


Dissent Amongst the Ranks

by cobaltexpositor



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Intrigue, Secret Relationship, eventually, fuck rots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cobaltexpositor/pseuds/cobaltexpositor
Summary: Commander Fox accused of treason! Despite all evidence against him being circumstantial at best, a trial is called to uncover the Coruscant Guard's true motivations. His brothers in the guard and Senator Chuchi work tirelessly to prove the Commander's innocence. Will Riyo and Fox's relationship be put under scrutiny? Will the clones loyalty to the Republic be tested? Is something larger and more -insidious- at work? Almost certainly!Reviews:"Love the concept, i’m excited to see how it all unfolds. You got Riyo and Fox’s characterization down!" -reader AhsokaLegend"Cobalt, you've killed me. I'm dead." -reader PartTimeWizard
Relationships: Riyo Chuchi/CC-1010 | Fox
Comments: 65
Kudos: 123





	1. Peace Interrupted

**Author's Note:**

> I was really inspired by @lilhaweye3 's writing and @flybynite 's artwork and fell hard for this ship. And like all ships I truly love, I must make them suffer. Please check out "Ruby and Gold" by lil, it's absolutely fantastic!

“-Which is why I must implore the Senate to vote against the GAR Stimulation Bill. This war will not last forever, and there must be a galaxy to return to when it is over,” Senator Chuchi ended with a final gesture. She looked up from her datapad at Fox, who was leaning against the front of the desk listening to her speech intently. “How was that?”

  
The Commander unfolded his arms to give a few quiet yet enthusiastic claps. “Remarkable as always, Riyo.” Riyo ducked her head to her chest at the praise, smiling sheepishly. “Do you think you should expand on some of the alternatives you mention in your speech? Or is that going to take too much time?”

  
Riyo scrolled through her speech notes, thinking. “Hmm. You make a good point. I can probably slim down my introduction by a few minutes. And I realized that this part was a bit redundant here…” Fox watched his lover pace across her office, thinking aloud as she adjusted her notes on her pad. He loved watching her in these moments, when all status and decorum was stripped away and the two of them could just be themselves. That was a luxury few clones had. He loves his brothers dearly, he would die for them without a second thought, but he was also their commander and had to separate himself from the rest of the Coruscant Guard in order to do his job. But when it’s just him and Riyo, all of those worries melted away.

  
The peace of Senator Chuchi’s office shattered as the door chimed, indicating someone was looking to enter. Fox immediately stood up from leaning on the desk and fell into a professional parade rest. Riyo walked over to where she had kicked off her shoes and slipped them back on. The both made eye contact, switching out of relaxed-partners mode and into professional-and-detached-senator-and-commander mode. Senator Chuchi answered the door and was greeted by five Senate Guards.

  
“Captain. This is a welcome surprise,” Chuchi said in a measured tone. “How can I help you?”

  
The Captain, Ecklund, Fox recognized, stepped past Chuchi into her office, flanked by his fellow guards. Fox noted with annoyance that he didn’t ask to be invited in, but he held his tongue. He may technically outrank Ecklund, but he was just a clone. Chuchi returned from the door to stand an appropriate distance away from Fox. “Captain,” Fox greeted with a small nod.

  
“Senator Chuchi, I must ask you to step away from Commander Fox,” Captain Ecklund said in a tailored Coruscanti accent. “For your own safety.”

  
Fox and Riyo looked at each other with mutual confusion. “I- I’m sorry?” Riyo asked. Captain Ecklund ignored her.

  
“Commander Fox, you are under arrest for involvement in conspiracy against the Republic and the Chancellor.”

  
“What?!” Riyo and Fox shouted simultaneously.

  
“Senator, please step aside.” Captain Ecklund retrieved cuffs from his belt and moved to approach Fox. Riyo moved to stand between the captain and Fox.

  
“There must be some mistake! Fox isn’t a traitor.” Riyo held her hands up to keep the captain away, panic rising in her voice.

  
“Senator, it’s alright,” Fox said. Riyo looked behind her and Fox made eye contact to attempt to reassure her, and to gain courage from her. “It’s obviously a mistake, we’ll sort it out and get to the bottom of this.” He had steeled his face into a mask of calm. He had gotten good at that, being in command for so many years. But Riyo knew him better than anyone, and she could tell that beneath that mask he was confused and rattled.

  
“No, it’s not alright!” Riyo shouted. “Captain, there must be some sort of explanat-” Chuchi was cut off by one of the other Senate Guards roughly grabbing her by the arm and dragging her out of the way. That fractured any manufactured serenity Fox had mustered. “Hey!” Fox growled, angrily stepping forward to protect Chuchi against the guard. In a flash, Captain Ecklund kneed Fox in the stomach and swept a leg against the back of his knees, bringing Fox crashing down to the floor. Only thinking of keeping Chuchi safe, Fox attempted to get up, earning him a sharp blow to the back of the head and he was pushed roughly to lay stomach-down on the floor. He grunted in pain as Captain Ecklund dug an armored knee into his back to keep him pinned to the floor.

  
“Stop! You’re hurting him!” Riyo struggled to pull free from the Senate Guard holding her back. The captain tightened the cuffs almost to the point of cutting off the circulation to his hands.

  
Captain Ecklund dragged Fox up to his feet and started leading him out the door, gripping his arm so tight it hurt Fox through his armor. The other Senate Guards fell in around them. Fox twisted his head to catch Riyo’s gaze one more time. What was he supposed to say to his terrified and confused partner watching her lover get dragged to jail? Nothing he could say to comfort her wouldn’t also give away the true nature of their relationship, and he would protect that at all costs. He said nothing, opting instead to send her a reassuring nod.

  
And then he was gone. Whisked away from her office, from their safe haven, without so much as an explanation as to why this was happening. The door slid shut with a hiss and Riyo winced at the sound. She suddenly realized how oppressively quiet it was. And that Fox had left his helmet on her desk. She lifted the helmet, running her fingers over the red paint. Stars, what was she going to do? She could feel her breathing speed up as she began to panic. What were they going to do to Fox? How could they possibly believe he was a traitor? Were they going to execute him?

  
“Stop it!” Riyo scolded herself, halting her spiraling thoughts. She was going to stop acting like a scared little girl and start acting like a senator. She placed her partner’s helmet gently back onto her desk, squared her shoulders, and exited her office. Anyone in the halls who would have wished to greet her or stop her had their words die in their mouths. She marched with more determination and ferocity than anyone had seen from the Pantoran senator before. She was well and truly on the warpath.

  
\---

  
“You going to tell me what proof you have against me, or are you just going to keep repeating that you do have evidence?” Fox asked Captain Ecklund, who was standing guard outside of the ray shield. No response. Fox sighed and leaned against the wall of his cell, closing his eyes. He did his best to relax, focusing on his breathing. He had no idea what was happening. He had tried to ask if his fellow clone commanders had been informed of his arrest, but he was met with silence. He had requested to see his commanders so they could arrange for someone to defend him, but he was met with even more silence. He focused on his breathing. Thorn and Thire would figure out where he was soon. He had caught the surprised gaze of several of the clones under his command on his way to the cell.

  
“Captain Ecklund, what is the meaning of this?!” Word travelled fast in the Grand Army of the Republic. Fox normally did his best to discourage gossip, but right now he was incredibly grateful for it as Commanders Thorn and Stone appeared in front of his cell. Even though Thorn had his helmet on, Fox could tell he was seething beneath it.

  
“Commander Fox has been arrested and charged with conspiracy against the Republic and the Chancellor Palpatine,” Captain Ecklund responded, doing little to disguise the venom in his voice. His disdain for clones had been a problem in the past, and it clearly was going to be a problem now.

  
“I can see that Captain,” Thorn shot back. “My question still goes unanswered though. What. Is. The Meaning. Of this? Because it seems to me like you’ve got a death wish. Or did your mother drop you on your head as a child?!”

  
“Like you would know anything about mothers.”

  
“Thorn, enough,” Fox called out as he saw his commander go to launch another verbal assault at the captain. As much as he loved watching Thorn chew into people who had crossed him, and was touched that he had so readily come to defend his honor, getting into an altercation in the cell block wasn’t actually helping right now. Stone placed a hand on Thorn’s shoulder to hold him in place.

  
“Let us in to speak with him,” Thorn said through gritted teeth. “Now.” Ecklund nodded to the guard by the control panel to lower the shield. Stone and Thorn stepped through into the cell as the shield was raised again, casting the room in an aggressive red glow.

  
“Fox, are you okay?” Stone asked, taking off his helmet.

  
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Fox replied. “No one will tell me anything other than that I’ve been accused of treason.”

  
“They won’t tell us anything either,” Thorn growled, pacing as much as he could in the small room. “How can they do this?! You haven’t done anything wrong. This is obviously a set up of some kind.”

  
“Oh sure,” Stone drawled sarcastically. “Clearly some Separatists have the time to get a clone thrown into jail because they have it out for him.”

  
“Crazier things have happened!”

  
“Alright you two,” Fox interjected. “Arguing isn’t getting me out of this cell.” The two men looked down at their shoes, embarrassed. “Look, I can’t do anything from here. I need you both to figure out who is accusing me of conspiracy and what evidence they have against me. We can work out if this some big Separatist ploy from there. Recruit Thire to oversee some of my duties until I come back.”

  
“No one’s going to listen to us,” Thorn said. “People barely listen to you, and you’re in charge.”

  
“Yes, thank you for that,” Fox rolled his eyes. He did have a point though. Outside of the Coruscant Guard, Fox rarely got the time of day from others. Just a day in the life of clones. “If you meet any resistance, ask Senator Chuhci for help. She can be persuasive.” Thorn and Stone exchanged a meaningful glance. It was an unspoken agreement between the three men to never talk about the relationship between the Pantoran senator and their commanding officer. They liked Senator Chuchi, everyone in the Coruscant Guard did. She was one of the few senators that actually treated the clone troopers with any respect. So when Fox had on occasion returned to the barracks later than normal with an out of character smile, no one said a word.

  
“Will do, Commander.” Stone finally said. Thorn and Stone saluted Fox. Fox just nodded his head back, his hands still cuffed behind him.

  
Stone returned his helmet to his head and faced the ray shield, indicating to the Senate Guard to let him and Thorn out.

  
“Hang in there, Fox,” Thorn said, giving his brother a final determined look before also putting his helmet back on. His two most trusted troopers left the cell and disappeared down the hall, and suddenly Fox was alone all over again. He leaned back against the back wall again, doing his best to stay calm. His brothers were going to get to the bottom of this. He was going to get out of this cell. He was going to see Riyo again.


	2. Batchmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Commander Wolffe gets an unexpected batch reunion called together by one of Fox's men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -This chapter has been edited to match the story continuity-  
> Originally it stated that the 212th and the 501st were headed to Coruscant, but in the rest of the story it's the wolfpack and the 501st. That's what you get when you post chapters without planning ahead!

Wolffe rolled his eyes when he heard the holo-comm beep, indicating an incoming call. This had better be good. He strode across his office to accept the call. Ponds, Cody, and Appo, his batchmates, were there. Thire was also there, who he only recognized because he was a commander under his other batchmate Fox.

“Who called all of us?” Ponds asked.

“I did,” Thire said.

Wolffe rolled his eyes again and crossed his arms. “What do you want, Thire? Doesn’t Fox have you busy?”

Appo snorts. “How busy can he be, chasing after senators?”

“Oh yeah, you’re one to talk, Appo,” Cody cuts in. “Isn’t your general always rushing in after Senator Amdidala?”

“Yeah, and you’re general is always rushing in after my general.”

“I don’t have time for a batch reunion,” Wolffe says. “Unlike some of us, I’m actually trying to win a war out here.”

“Would you all just shut up for five seconds?!” Thire shouts. “Fox has been arrested.”

“HE WHAT?!” The rest of them shout in unison, all turning to stare at Thire.

“That’s why I called all of you,” Thire explains. “They’re accusing him of treason and conspiracy.”

“Fox, a traitor?” Cody says, disbelief and shock across his face. “That’s crazy! They’ve met Fox, right?” Thire shrugs at that, hands up in a “I have no idea” gesture.

“What are you doing to help him?” Ponds asks Thire.

“We’re working on getting what evidence the Senate Guard has collected against Fox, but they’re being as uncooperative as possible. The chancellor has approved a trial based on what they’ve shown him so far. Apparently Admiral Tarkin is going to be prosecuting.”

“Oh, and that went so well last time,” Appo says. The other four men nod in agreement. They all remember hearing about Commander Tano’s trial from Appo when it happened.

“Who’s going to be defending Fox?” Cody asks.

“They’ve already told us it can’t be a senator. Apparently Commander Tano’s trial had ‘special circumstances’” Thire puts in air quotes. “Stone has the most experience out of all of us, so we agreed he’ll defend Fox.”

Appo nodded his head in approval. “I've met Stone, he’s a good choice.”

“This is ridiculous,” Wolffe snarled. “How can they expect us to win this war when they accuse us of treason at every turn? Fox is the most loyal out of all of us!”

“There isn’t anything we can do about that now,” Cody replies. “All we can do is be there for Fox. I heard that the 104th is going to be on Coruscant in the next three rotations or so?”

Wolffe nodded, doing the breathing exercises his general had taught him and the wolfpack. “General Plo has business with the council.”

“The 501st will be there too. We’ll check in on Fox then.” Appo added.

“Keep us updated,” Ponds says. “Thanks for calling us, Thire. Tell Fox to hang in there.” Thire salutes and drops off the call. The four batchmates stand in silence for a moment, still processing the information they had just gotten.

“He’s going to be okay,” Ponds finally says. “Right?”

Wolffe shrugs. “Fox’ika has always been tough. But corralling all those bumbling senators every day, just for him to be accused of treason? I don’t know. I don’t think I’d be okay.”

“But he’s not a traitor, so they can’t actually have any evidence to sentence him with,” Cody offers. They all avoid eye contact, thinking back to Commander Tano and how the truth was manipulated against her.

“We won’t let anything happen to our brother,” Appo says. “He’s going to be fine.”

“Agreed,” Wolffe says. “I have to go, but we’ll update everyone as soon as we find out more about what the hells is happening on Coruscant.”

“Stay safe, brothers,” Ponds says his farewell, and one by one, they exit the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This filler is just an excuse for me to add as many beloved clones as possible. The trial is fast approaching! I'm really happy with a ll the support this fic has received so far.


	3. Evening the Playing Field

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riyo confronts the commander of the Senate Guard who had Fox arrested. The Coruscant Guard teams up with the Pantoran senator.

“Senator Chuchi, what can I do for you?”

If people were asked to describe Senator Chuchi, “violent” wouldn’t be on anyone’s lips. Still, Ryo had to work hard to restrain herself standing in the Senate Guard Commander’s office. She could feel the skin of her palm starting to break beneath her fingernails as she clenched her fist behind her back. But her face was the picture of calm, perfected through years of practice as a civil servant.

Commander Foster was an older human, with pale watery blue eyes and a stern glare. His office, unlike Fox’s office, was fit for a commander. Simple but elegant furnishings, various medals in displays along the walls, and actual room to walk around in. Riyo had only ever spoken to Foster in passing before, but had listened to Fox on multiple occasions vent his frustrations about the man. Apparently, Commander Foster was none too pleased about the increasing presence of clones on Coruscant -ever since the betrayal of Captain Argyus- and made it a point to make the lives of the Coruscant Guard that much more miserable.

Still, Riyo did her best to remain civil, even while standing in front of the man who had her partner thrown in a cell.

“Commander Foster, I came to inquire on behalf of Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard,” she said, keeping her tone as even and neutral as possible. “He was arrested today. In my office, I might add. I was hoping for some kind of explanation.”

Commander Foster leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers in a casual manner (it made Riyo’s blood boil. How could he be so relaxed while he was ruining Fox’s life?) “I admire your compassion, Senator. But I regret that I cannot go into detail about the investigation with a civilian. This is an internal matter.”

“An internal matter? I am a senator!” Riyo cut herself off before her voice could raise any louder. “Could you at least let me know what is being done to ensure that the Commander is tried fairly? Who will be representing him?”

“I’m sure one of his ‘brothers’ will rise to the occasion,” Foster said noncommittally. Riyo’s teeth ground at the implied quotes around “brothers”.

“Couldn’t I represent him?”

“No.”

“But Senator Amidala represented Commander Tano when she was on trial.”

“Those were special circumstances.”

“How so?” Commander Foster sighed, clearly annoyed. “I believe General Skywalker requested it, and the Chancellor granted it. But this is completely different. This is an open-and-shut case.” He smiled in a way that didn’t reach his eyes. “To be honest, I wouldn’t waste your time, Senator.” He sat back upright at his desk, returning to the work on his datapad. “Besides, I thought you would be grateful that we caught the traitor when we did. I know you and the Commander were… friends.” Riyo felt the blood rise in her face. “Just think how awful it would have been if we hadn’t caught him before he had done something awful to you.”

Riyo smiled politely, even though her heart was racing and she was seeing red. “Perish the thought, Commander Foster.” She bowed lightly. “Thank you, for your efforts.” She couldn’t help the bit of venom that laced her farewell.

Commander Foster narrowed his eyes at her. “Good day, Senator Chuchi.”

“Good day.” Riyo twirled around and marched out of the office.

\---

Thire, Stone, and Thorn all converged on each other in the hall leading to Fox’s office.

“Thire, you call the commander’s batchmates?”

“Yeah, Commander Appo and Cody are going to be planetside in three days. How is he?”

“Annoyed, but fine,” Thorn says as he keys in the code to Fox’s office. Technically, Fox was supposed to be the only one who knew the code, but he had given it to Stone, Thorn, and Thire in case of emergencies.

“You should have been there, Thire,” Stone says. “Thorn nearly bit Captain Ecklund’s head off!”

“It would’ve been no less than what he deserved,” Thorn grumbled as the door slid open. Thire and Stone went to retort but were cut off as they ran into Thorn, who stopped dead in the doorframe.

“Thorn, what the hell?”

“Uh, Senator Chuchi! This is… unexpected.” Thorn said, ignoring Stone. Stone and Thire looked over Thorn’s shoulders to see Senator Chuchi sitting in Commander Fox’s chair, pouring over a datapad. She looked up, startled, then stood to greet the troopers.

“Commanders! Apologies, I didn’t hear you at the door.”

“That’s alright, ma’am. But uh, how did you get in here?” Thorn asked. Riyo looked away from the three clones, embarrassed.

“Commander Fox may have given me his pass code for the door.” Stone and Thire made eye contact behind Thorn’s back, giving each other a knowing look. “But that’s unimportant right now,” Riyo continued, gesturing for the men to come in. The office was a little cramped for three clone troopers and a senator, but they all squeezed in around the desk. “I’m here to help. I already spoke to Commander Foster, but he was less than forthcoming. And I regret to report that my request to represent Commander Fox in his trial has been denied. It’ll be down to one of you.”

“Hmm,” Stone muttered, one arm across his chest and his other hand on his chin, thinking. He glanced up to see Thorn and Thire staring at him. “What?”

“Well we can’t do it,” Thorn said, pointing at himself and Thire.

“What, and you think I can?!” Stone exclaimed. “You’re out of your minds!”

“Stone, I think they’re right,” Riyo reached out to place a hand on his arm guard. “I can’t do it for you, but I’ll walk you through every step of this.” She addressed all three men. “We can do this. We have to, for Commander Fox.” Stone stood up a little straighter at her words, his nerves lessening. He saw what Fox saw in the senator in that moment: a force to be reckoned with. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Thire hit the panel and Hound walked in with a datapad. “Hound, what’s up?” Thire asked.

Hound took off his helmet, revealing a smug grin. He handed the datapad over to Stone. “Now we can work on a more even battle ground.”

Stone skimmed over the files. There were various security cam clips, different incident reports, all involving Fox. He looked up from the pad to regard Hound. “Sergeant, how did you acquire these files?”

Hound’s smile widened. “Flinch and I may have paid a visit to the Senate Guard’s intel office.”

“And they just gave you these?”

“More or less,” Hound said, a conspiratorial glint in his eyes.

Stone slapped Hound on the shoulder. “Good man.” Hound saluted Stone, gave Riyo a polite nod, and left the office (not before getting a not-so-subtle high five from Thire on his way out).

Stone walked around the desk to sit in Fox’s seat. It was intimidating, sitting in the Commander’s spot. But his brother was relying on him to step up and take the mantle, however temporarily.

“Well,” he finally said. “Let’s get to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been brought to my attention that Ponds was killed by Aurra Sing at some point in tcw. Oops! Let's just say he made a miraculous recovery. If Maul can do it, my boy Ponds can. Things are really ramping up here, folks!


	4. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial begins, and it's going well. But Fox is scared, and Riyo is careless (according to him). Wolffe and Appo join the party. And new information comes to light on the second day of Fox's trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst all around this chapter. Next one will be happy, I swear. Also, I'm changing the rating to Teen purely for language (almost entirely Wolffe) and *very* brief nondescript sexual scene (like, not even sex, just some heavy petting in one paragraph). Enjoy!

Fox’s cell was four short strides wide, three short strides long. He knows because he counted as he paced back and forth endlessly, deep in thought. Today was the first day of his court martial. Stone was defending, Admiral Tarkin was prosecuting, and the Chancellor was the final judge. The Chancellor. Fox’s stomach twisted at the idea of that man preceding over his fate. He hoped that the Chancellor would remember during the trial the countless times Fox had nearly died to save him. How many of his brothers that had actually died for him here on Coruscant and across the entire galaxy. Surely he would recognize Fox’s devotion, his loyalty to the Republic? The commander didn’t have his hopes up.

Four short paces wide, three short paces long. Fox paused at the small mirror above the sink in his cell to stare at his reflection. He rubbed at the stubble along his jaw. He desperately wanted to shave so he could be presentable for his trial, but he had barely been allowed a toothbrush by the Senate Guard.

“I think it looks handsome,” a familiar voice whispers. Fox spun around to see Riyo on the other side of the ray shield.

“Riyo? What are you doing here?” Fox got as close to the shield as he could, as close to Riyo as he could.

“Thire snuck me in. I wanted to see you before your trial started this morning.”

“You shouldn’t be here. You could get in a lot of trouble.”

“I needed you to know that I’m here for you,” Riyo said, looking up with an earnest look. “I’m going to be in the gallery, but I won’t be able to talk to you there.”

Fox sighed, his shoulders dropping. His initial panic over Riyo’s safety escaped his body, leaving only the warm, glowing feeling in his chest that he always felt when he was alone with Riyo. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Riyo smiled at him, sadness lingering behind her eyes. She looked down the hallway to make sure they were still clear. “Okay, I have to go soon, Thire said I only had a minute. I just wanted to say that no matter what happens, I’m here for you. Whatever happens, we will figure it out. I will figure it out.”

Fox leaned his head against the door frame, looking down at his love. Even through the red haze of the shield, she was beautiful. “The only thing that has gotten me through these past couple days is the knowledge that I’m going to be able to hold you again.”

“That will be sometime soon, if Stone and I have anything to say about it.” It was moments like these where Fox remembered that Riyo wasn’t just Riyo; she was Senator Chuchi, representative to a whole planet. She was a force to be reckoned with, and Fox loved to watch her work. She looked down the hallway again, presumably at Thire, and turned back to Fox.

“I have to go now, but I will see you in the courtroom. Stay calm, stay strong, and we won’t be separated by this shield for much longer.”

Fox nodded, quirking his mouth into a half smile. “You go, I’ll catch up,” he joked. Riyo left, Fox craning his neck to be able to watch her go until the very last second he was out of his eyeline. He sighed, turning back into his cell.

Four paces wide, three paces long.

\---

The first day of the trial was a roaring success, Riyo thought. She watched intently from the gallery as Stone recited all the points she had written word for word. She found herself reciting them under her breath in unison with Stone a few times. Padme sat beside her, nudging her each time she started to add hand motions to her recitation. The whole time Fox stood there, back as straight as an arrow, eyes forward. He had only looked into the gallery once, when they had brought him to the platform with Stone at the beginning of the trial. Riyo’s heart broke a little every time she looked at him. He was one of the most dedicated officers in the Grand Army. Everyone who had met him knew that. And now he was on trial for treason of all things. Fox didn’t show it, he was always good at hiding pain and weakness, but she knew that he felt hurt, betrayed.

After four long hours, the Chancellor called a recess until the next day, and Riyo released a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. This was good, the Chancellor hadn’t ordered Fox’s execution (which had been lingering as a worst-case scenario in the back of her mind). He was still being brought back to a jail cell, but Riyo felt cautiously hopeful.

Which is why she asked Thire to sneak her back into the Senate Guard building to see Fox that night.

She peered down the hall with Thire, her head peeking out under his. He nodded, giving her the all-clear. She snuck on her tiptoes to Fox’s cell. She peeked in to see Fox lying on the bench at the back of the cell, hands tucked underneath his head and staring straight up at the ceiling.

“Psst.”

Fox glanced over nonchalantly, then did a double take when he realized who was at the doorway.

“Riyo!” he hissed. “Why are you here?!”

“I wanted to check on you,” Riyo whispered. “Today went really well, don’t you think?”

Fox shot up off the bench and stormed up to the shield. His face was twisted in anger. “This morning was already risky enough, but twice in one day is unacceptable. Did Thire sneak you in again?”

Riyo blinked in surprise, not expecting this hostility. “Well, yeah. But don’t worry, the coast is clear for now. Aren’t you at least a little happy? Today was a great start to your trial. I’m really hopeful.”

Fox threw up his hands. “Today was terrible, Riyo! Weren’t you paying attention? They tore into my life. Every decision I’ve ever made was called into question today. And now you’re here and you can’t be.”

Riyo took a tentative step back. “Well, they have to go into your life, so that we can prove you’re not a traitor.”

“And if they go into my life, what are they going to find? You.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“Yes!” Fox shouted, cutting himself off quickly before he could make any more noise. “Yes,” he continued in a harsh whisper. “Because then it won’t matter if they rule me as a traitor or not, they’ll decommission me anyways and you can kiss your senate career goodbye.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Riyo raised her hands to the shield, just shy of touching it.

“You couldn’t stop me from getting arrested. You couldn’t stop this from going to trial. You can’t stop any of this from happening, and I won’t let you get caught up in it.”

Riyo’s eyes widened, tears starting to form. “What are you talking about?”

Fox suddenly couldn’t meet her eyes, staring past her instead. “Don’t come to visit here anymore. Tell Thire that I’m ordering him to stop assisting your excursions to the Senate Guard building.”

“I- I understand that you’re scared, but-”

“Riyo, go.”

Riyo bit her lip to silence herself, tears finally rolling down her cheek. She rushed down the hall, wiping her face of any evidence of her crying before she got to Thire.

She avoided looking into Thire’s helmet. “I thought I heard someone coming down the hallway, let’s go.”

\---

Wolffe waited, arms crossed and leaning against a stack of supply crates. The wind whipped across the landing pad as the trooper transport touched down. Clones with painted blue armor filed out, all heading their separate ways to get a jump start on their shore leave. One clone made their way straight towards Wolffe, removing his helmet as he walked. Wolffe pushed off the crates, holding his hand out for his brother.

“Appo! How the hell are you?”

Appo grinned, clasping Wolffe’s hand. “Exhausted and in need of a shower. You check in with Fox’s kids yet?”

“Waiting for you, let’s go.”

\---

Wolffe and Appo met up with Thire, who led them to Fox’s office where he said Thorn and Stone should be planning for the trial later that day. The door opened with a soft woosh.

“Alright you fuckers, how did Fox’ika get thrown in a kriffin’ jail cell on your wa-” Wolffe stopped in his tracks, surprised by the small blue woman in Fox’s chair. Who was crying.

“Uhh, Senator Chuchi,” Appo stuttered out. “Sorry, we didn’t… we’ll just come back later.”

“No!” Riyo stood up, dusting off her skirts. “Apologies, Commanders, I didn’t- come in!” She held her hand out for Appo and Wolffe. “Nice to see you again, Commander Appo. And you must be Commander Wolffe, Fox has told me a lot about you.”

Wolffe shook the senator’s hand. “Senator Chuchi, it’s a pleasure. You’re the one helping Stone with Fox’s defense?”

“Hey, sorry we’re late,” Thorn and Stone walked into the room. “We caught some shinies hiding a loth-cat in the barracks.”

“Tight ship you run here,” Wolffe drawled, crossing his arms.

“Look, we have an hour before day two of this trial starts, so Senator Chuchi and I are going to go over some notes before we have to go,” Stone explained. “Do you two want to go see Fox beforehand?” Wolffe and Appo nodded. “Good, Thire will take you to the cell block and then we’ll all meet at the trial.”

“Riyo, you want to tag along?” Thire asked. “I can sneak you in the same way as last time.”

“Ah, well,” Riyo wrung her hands. “Actually, Fox told me to tell you that he’s ordering you to stop aiding any of my ‘excursions’ into the cell block.”

The five men all stared at each other, confused.

\---

“Really, Fox’ika? Yelling at your girlfriend?” Wolffe hissed.

“Keep it down, would you?” Fox gestured to the two Senate Guards stationed at his doorway.

“You can’t be making her cry, vod. You may know how to deal with crying senators, but we don’t know how to deal with crying senators!” Wolffe pointed frantically between him and Appo.

“She’s just trying to help,” Appo offered.

“I know that!” Fox shouted. “I know that, I just-” he lowered his head between his shoulders. “I know she’s trying to help, but I’m just trying to keep her safe. If I go down, that’s fine. I’ve made peace with that.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “But I can’t have her take the fall for what they’re accusing me of too.”

“Look,” Thire sighed, and sat on the bench next to Fox. “The only person you should be worrying about right now is yourself. And we have everything under control.” He leaned in, speaking under his breath to keep the Senate Guards from eavesdropping. “One: there is no indication that they even know about the two of you. You’re the one on trial here, not her. And two: she knows the risks, we all do. How many attempts on her life have we thwarted? She’s as tough as any of us. She’s not going anywhere, so you’re only making the both of you miserable if you say she can’t come and see you anymore.”

Fox nodded his head, begrudgingly agreeing with his brother. “Okay,” he looked side long at Thire. “Will you tell her I’m sorry?”

Thire patted him on the shoulder and stood up. “You’ll get to tell her yourself. Stone thinks he should have you out by tomorrow.”

“Chin up, Fox’ika,” Wolffe offered. “We’ll be in there with you today and tomorrow, and then we’ll all go down to 79’s to celebrate.”

Fox smiled weakly. “See you soon.”

\---

“Commander Fox, what is the nature of your relationship with Pantoran senator Riyo Chuchi?”

Fox glanced to Stone, who met him with a cautious look. “I- I don’t understand the question,” he finally replied. “How is that relevant?” Fox used all his training to keep himself calm. Breathe, breathe, don’t look at Riyo in the gallery, breathe, don’t look, breathe.

“Answer the question, Commander,” Tarkin pressed.

Fox cleared his throat, hoping to push down the lump forming there. “I would consider Senator Chuchi an acquaintance.”

“Just an acquaintance?”

“Yes.”

“Senator Chuchi has often spoken out against certain aspects of the war and the republic, has she not?”

“I have to object to this,” Stone cuts in. “Commander Fox is the one on trial here, not the senator. What does Senator Chuchi’s political standpoints have to do with this?” Fox felt a beat of pride for his brother in that moment, keeping calm under pressure.

Tarkin smiled in a way that made Fox’s stomach twist. “I’ll show you exactly what they have to do with these proceedings.” He leans over to the computer panel at his podium and presses a button, projecting an image onto a screen for the whole court to see. The picture was a close up of Fox and Riyo, facing each other as if they were talking.

_The red and orange hues of the Coruscanti sunset played across Riyo’s skin, turning her normally blue skin shades of purple._

_“Senator,” Fox said._

_“Commander,” Riyo replied, her smile spreading into a grin._

They were standing a little closer to each other than was strictly professional, but that wasn’t a crime. Fox clenched his jaw to keep himself from reacting. They didn’t have anything. Thire was right earlier. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth.

Then Tarkin pressed another button, and the picture changed.

_Fox raised a gloved hand to cup Riyo’s cheek, running his thumb over her green markings that he loved so much. Riyo closed her eyes in contentment and leaned into the touch. She brought up her own hand to keep him pressed to her face._

The picture changed again.

_Fox leaned down, and Riyo rose onto her tiptoes to meet him. They kissed sweetly and Fox’s heart soared._

Fox’s heart dropped into his stomach as he stared at the screen. In the recesses of his mind somewhere he registered the astonished gasps of the onlookers in the gallery. He vaguely understood that Stone was looking between Fox and the screen with increasing panic. But he just stood there, doing everything he could to not fall to the floor.

The picture changed again.

_His skin felt like it was burning underneath Riyo’s hands on either side of his face. His hand that had begun on her cheek had migrated to her waist, his other arm snaking around his lover’s shoulders to draw her flush to his body. Her lips parted, and he used that as an opportunity to lick into her mouth. The sounds she made sang in Fox’s ears, his chest swelling at the knowledge that he was the only one who got the privilege of hearing them. Of seeing Riyo, his Riyo, like this._

It changed again.

_He kissed along her cheekbones, along her green markings. A small giggle escaped her mouth as he playfully bit her ear. She felt him smile against her skin. He continued down the line of her neck. She threw her head back to give him more room. Her hands ran through his cropped, curly hair, gripping as he mouthed along her clavicle._

_“Fox,” she gasped._

“Stop- STOP!” Fox screamed. He could barely hear himself over the blood rushing in his ears. Tarkin pressed another button and mercifully (uncharacteristically) ended the projection.

“These holos show the true nature of the Commander and Sneator’s relationship,” Tarkin explains to the chancellor calmly, as if he hasn’t just ruined Fox’s life. “Senator Chuchi has on multiple occasions skirted the line of treason with her opposition and bold words on the senate floor. She seeks dissent and encourages chaos within the Republic. Her actions in the Senate take on a more sinister appearance now that we know the Commander and her are… involved.” Tarkin glanced at Fox, who was staring at him in disbelief. “Who’s to say which one became a traitor first, but both the commander and the senator are a danger to the safety and the freedom of the Republic!”

Fox couldn’t keep himself from looking anymore. He looked up to Riyo, to find comfort, to apologize, to ground himself. He looked at his lover, so far away from him. She was staring back, eyes wide with shock and fear. Her face was drained of all color, leaving her skin an icy blue. Senator Amidala was seated next to her, a gentle and reassuring hand on Riyo’s shoulder.

Chancellor Palpatine released a long, suffering sigh. “It pains me to say this, but I must agree with Admiral Tarkin’s findings. Senator Chuchi will be brought in for questioning immediately. This court will be adjourned for today.”

Fox felt like he was going to pass out. He couldn’t breathe, he was swaying on his feet. His hands were gripped painfully into tight fists behind his back, the cuffs suddenly painfully tight. He watched as Senate Guards forced Riyo from her seat in the gallery. He couldn’t hear, but it looked like Senator Amidala was yelling at the guards. A small comfort, he supposed. He and Riyo made eye contact one last time before she was whisked away by the Senate Guards.

The next few moments were a blur. Fox barely feels Stone’s hand on his back as he guides him back through the halls and into his cell. He doesn’t react when another nameless Senate Guard uncuffs his wrists. He just stands there until Stone leads him over to the shelf bench at the back of the cell and encourages him to sit. Stone went to give his brother words of comfort and encouragement, but what could he possibly say after what they had all just witnessed? Instead he opted to squeeze Fox’s shoulder before turning and exiting the cell.

Fox put his head in his hands, elbows resting against his knees. What had he done to deserve this? What had Riyo done to deserve him? The pictures of the two of them kept flashing across his mind, each accompanied by a wave of nausea. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and get rid of them, but all that did was force the tears forming to fall down his face. Fox sat in his cell, doing his best to keep his shaking sobs quiet, alone.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so don't hate me for this one. Things always get worse before they get better.


	5. Guilty by Association (Alt. Title: Senatorial Fashion Strikes Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 501st is called back into the field, Senator Chuchi is placed under house arrest, and the Coruscant Guard is feeling a little helpless. Hopefully someone can pass along some actionable information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added a very brief, semi-spicy flashback as a little treat for everyone who has been enjoying this fic so far. And to make up for the heartbreaking scene last chapter. Also, I've planned out the rest of the fic, so updates should be coming more frequently. Enjoy!

Commander Foster sat on the other side of the metal table, back facing the shielded exit of the interrogation room. “Senator Chuchi,” he slid a datapad across the table to rest in front of her. “As you saw in the trial today, we know about you and the commander. It’s time to tell us what  _ you _ know.”

Riyo ignored him and snatched up the datapad instead. She didn’t want to look, but she had to. She flipped through the photos that she had seen projected for everyone to see. Her stomach twisted seeing that the one thing she had just for her was dragged out into the harsh light of day. She didn’t want to look, relive what just happened, but she had to. She had to figure out when these photos were taken. That dress, she recognized the dress, vaguely. She couldn’t tell from the side profile. When did she wear that dress?

She flipped to photos that hadn’t been shown in court. Her hand flew to her mouth in shock.

_ Fox guided Riyo backwards until her back was pressed against the wall that ran perpendicular to the window. Both of his hands ran down her torso and gripped her hips. She bundled up the front of her skirts in her hand, exposing her bare legs. Fox lifted, and Riyo wrapped her legs around Fox’s hips. His gloved hands moved to underneath her thighs, and he pressed his body against hers to keep her against the wall. Riyo was a slight woman, but she kept her arms tightly around Fox’s shoulders all the same. She pulled her face away from his, panting to catch her breath. He pressed their foreheads together, eyes closed contently. She reveled in the feel of his breathing on her face, the cool plastoid of his armor against her legs. _

“This is an outrage! This is an invasion of my most basic of privacies! You had no right-”

“Senator Chuchi, sit down or I will have you restrained,” Commander Foster said in a calm tone that made Riyo even more infuriated. But she sat down in a huff, nonetheless.

“This is a democracy. It is within my rights to speak out without being accused of treason.”

“That would normally be the case,” Commander Foster leaned back in his chair, resting the datapad on the table between them. “But we are at war, and these are uncertain times. Your… fervor against certain motions of the Republic alongside your secret relationship with a known traitor is… concerning, to say the least.”

“‘Known’ traitor? They haven’t even finished his trial!” Riyo dug her fingernails into her palm to keep herself from crying. She can’t show weakness, not now. She went to flip over the datapad, so she didn’t have her greatest shame glowing in her face. She paused. The angle had changed when she and Fox had moved. Her arms were in full view, and the detail of her sleeve could be seen. She recognized the dress.  _ Small victories. _

There was a commotion outside the interrogation room. A woman’s voice cut above the Senate Guards.

“No, you  _ will _ let me in to see Senator Chuchi. She has every right to representation and council. And you will let me in to see her now, or I will  _ personally _ make sure none of you work for the Senate in any capacity ever again!”

The door shield lowered and Senator Amidala stormed in. “Commander Foster, I must insist that I be allowed to speak to my colleague alone.”

Commander Foster looked between the two women, weighing his options. He looked to Senator Amidala, a woman who was always the picture of serenity, now absolutely outraged. He sighed, and stood to leave.

“The guards stay. You have three minutes.” He exited and the two silent Senate Guards remained in the room, bracketing the doorway. Padmé slid into the chair next to Riyo, leaning in so they could speak in hushed voices.

“How are you, Riyo?”

Riyo put her head in her hands, exhaustion hitting her. “I’m about as good as is to be expected.”

“I am so sorry. No one should have something so private exposed that way.” Riyo looked sidelong at her friend with a knowing look. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you want to be considered a traitor by association,” Riyo said loudly for the guards to her, before pushing herself and the chair back to rest her head on crossed arms at the edge of the metal table. 

“Good point,” Padmé scooched in closer to rub soothing circles on Riyo’s back.

“Those pictures…” Riyo whispered out of the corner of her mouth. “They had to have been taken two weeks ago through my apartment window. I recognized the dress. Tell Commanders Stone and Thorn. Pat twice if you understand.” Padmé gave two gentle pats on her shoulder blade. “Oh, I’m ruined!” Riyo yelled, and shook her body in wracking sobs for effect before sitting up, wiping away tears in a way that might have been deemed dramatic for her. “Thank you, Padmé, but there’s just nothing you can do.”

Padmé nodded, dipping her chin to her chest so she could steel her face against a smile that threatened to appear. “I understand, Riyo. I’m here if you need me.”

“Your three minutes are up,” commander Foster said as he reentered the room (well before three minutes). “Senator Amidala, if you will please leave the premises, we will be escorting Senator Chuchi back to her apartment and placing her and her aides under house arrest.”

Padmé gave Riyo an encouraging squeeze on her shoulder, then coldly marched past Commander Foster and the other Senate Guards. Riyo watched the back of her friend’s head for as long as she could. She had the utmost faith in the Coruscant Guard. They would know what to do with what Padmé tells them. Still, she sent a silent prayer to the moon goddess Astey, goddess of protection, for Fox and his brothers.

\---

Wolffe, Stone, and Thorn sat in Fox’s office in dead silence, still trying to process how absolutely screwed they were. Well, how screwed Fox was. The silence was shattered by Wolffe’s comm, which startled him. He smacked the comm on his wrist. “What?!”

“Wolffe, it’s Appo. The 501st is being called out on emergency to Ringo Vinda. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay to help longer.”

Wolffe sighed, rubbing at his temple. “It’s alright Appo. There’s not really much you could have done.”

“Keep me posted?”

“Yeah, I’m updating all the batchmates later tonight. Stay safe, brother.”

“You too.” And the comm channel went dead. “Shit.”

“Okay, okay,” Stone said. “Now what?”

“We continue with the trial, right?” Thorn asked. “We can’t just leave Fox for Admiral Tarkin to tear him apart like a bunch of vulture droids!”

“Yeah, but how? It hasn’t exactly been going our way, even with Senator Chuchi’s help.” Wolffe said.

“You got a better idea?” Thorn pushed off the wall he was leaning on.

“Yeah, don’t let my batchmate get arrested in the first place!” Wolffe closed the distance, staring down Thorn.

“Here we go,” Stone muttered under his breath.

“Easier said than done, Wolfie. You know how much shit we have to deal with everyday? We’re lucky that there’s even a trial to begin with!”

“Oh yeah, because your lives are sooo hard,” Wolffe retorted sarcastically. “Tell me, are all the members of the Coruscant Guard shacking up with senators, or is it just Fox?”

“Gentlemen.” All three clones whipped their heads around to the office door, where Senator Amidala and Thire had entered while Wolffe and Thorn had been arguing.

“Senator Amidala,” Thorn said, clearing his throat. “Apologies.”

“How can we help you, senator?” Stone asked.

“Actually, I believe I can help you. I was able to speak to Senator Chuchi briefly before they took her to her apartment and placed her under house arrest. She informed me that those photos had to have been taken two weeks ago while she was in her apartment. Do with that information what you will.”

“Thank you, Senator. We can-” Padmé held up her hand to stop Stone.

“The less I know, the better. Unfortunately, my position as senator means that I have to think of my people first. And as much as I consider Chuchi to be one of my people, I can’t aid in any investigation to clear her or Commander Fox’s name. You did not hear this information from me, I was here to speak about my security detail.” She turned to leave. “Best of luck to all of you, commanders.” She exited, shoulders set and poised like royalty.

“Okay, this is good, we can work with this.” Stone sat back in the rickety office chair.

“They put Senator Chuchi on house arrest? They can do that?” Thorn asked, bewildered.

“We’re at war. The Chancellor can do whatever he wants, and the Senate Guard works for the Chancellor,” Wolffe offered.

“Hound was able to get me copies of those photos,” Thire waved the datapad in his hand. “Senator Chuchi’s apartment is surrounded by hundreds of buildings, but if we study the angle, we can figure out where the photos were taken.” He handed the datapad over to Stone. “We figure out who took those photos, we figure out who hired them and we are one step closer to figuring out who is trying to frame the commander and Senator Chuchi.”

“Good plan, Thire,” Wolffe clapped the trooper on the back. “You should be in charge of that.”

“I still can’t believe that they put Senator Chuchi on house arrest,” Thorn shook his head. “I mean, they got photos of her and the commander making out. So what? That doesn’t mean they’re in a relationship or someth-”

“WOAH!” Stone slammed the datapad screen down on the desk, blushing furiously. All the other clones stared at him blankly. “They, uh…” He screwed his eyes shut, trying to erase the images from his mind. “No, they got everything.” He jabbed at the datapad with his finger. “No one else looks at this, and that’s an order.”

Thire wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Gross, that’s just wrong.”

“Alright, we have more work ahead of us and less help now that Appo and Senator Chuchi are gone,” Thorn said. “Fox is running out of time. Stone, you focus on Fox’s defense. Thire, Wolffe, you find whoever took those photos.”

“And what about you?” Wolffe asked, arms crossed.

Thorn let out a long, suffering sigh. “Everything else, I guess. Still got a Guard to run.”

Wolffe shrugged. “Works for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you all think! I've been loving everyone's comments on this fic, it's really motivated me to finish. I'm thinking that there are two or three more chapters left, plus an extra special epilogue that I think you all will really like.


	6. Good Clone, Bad Clone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? whatcha gonna do when they come for you?" Wolffe and Thire head out into Coruscant to figure out who took those incriminating photos of Riyo and Fox. It leads to some... interesting locations, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You gotta love some good cop, bad cop dynamics. I think Wolffe would be really out of his element on Coruscant, having spent the whole war on the front lines. Enjoy!

“Remind me to never set foot on Coruscant ever again,” Wolffe grumbled.

“C’mon Wolfie,” Thire nudged at him with his elbow. “It’s not so bad once you get used to it.”

“For the last time, my name is not ‘Wolfie’. Are you done yet?”

“Almost. Just lining up the vantage point aaaanndddd… done!” Thire proudly presented the holomap. “Some of my finest work, if I do say so myself.”

“Whatever,” Wolffe snatched the holomap to get a closer look. It was focused on the city blocks that surrounded Senator Chuchi’s apartment building. Wolffe pointed to the one building on the holomap that glowed red. “So this is where whoever took those photos must have been set up?”

“Yep!” Thire manipulated the holo to focus on just that building. “Specifically the 47th floor. I can’t narrow it down to the individual room until we get inside.”

The pair wove their way through the bustling streets of upper Coruscant. Well, Thire wove, Coruscanti citizens were used to brushing off members of the guard. Wolffe however, cut clean through the crowd, a glare set on his face. They arrived at the towering building, nondescript and ultimately indistinguishable from the rest of the skyline.

“What is this building even for?” Wolffe asked. Thire scrolled through a datapad.

“Uhhhh, it’s a commerce center. Each floor is for a different store or service.”

Wolffe and Fox both stuck out like sore thumbs in the ground floor of the complex. Like the outside of the building (and most of upper Coruscant) the foyer was bright and filled with light, sweeping patterns and structures. An elaborate fountain decorated the center of the floor. Patrons and employees alike threw up eyebrows (and eyebrow equivalents) at two clones in a pedestrian area. Wolffe scowled at most of them and they quickly looked away back to their own business.

“Hi!” Thire waved cheerfully at a passing blue Twi’lek, who was wearing an employee uniform. “I was hoping you could tell us if all these lifts go up to floor 47?”

The woman looked taken aback by what Thire had just said, blinking in surprise. “Umm, so you need to take that lift right there, and it should take you straight up.” Her eyes shifted between the two men curiously.

“Great, thank you!” Thire said and began to walk off. The Twi’lek scanned Wolffe up and down appraisingly.

“Didn’t realize clones were into that kind of stuff,” she muttered to herself before walking away.

“C’mon Wolfie!” Thire grabbed Wolffe by the elbow before he could ask what the woman meant to drag him along into the lift. In seconds, the lift rocketed them both up to the 47th floor and the doors wooshed open. Both men froze in the lift, eyes wide.

“Oh, that’s what she meant.”

The floor was completely mismatched to the rest of the building. The walls were a dark, deep maroon. The walls were lined with various displays of sex toys and paraphinalia. There was also a huge array of mannequins modelling lingerie in the center of the store.

“You first,” Thire said.

“Wha-” Wolffe was cut off as Thire pushed him bodily out of the lift and into the shop.

“Can I help you two gentlemen?” Wolffe stumbled to a stop in front of a shorter Nautolan woman. Another employee, wearing a store-specific uniform of a black tunic and a small name tag that read ‘Alma’. “Pardon me, I’m just changing out some of the displays,” she gestured to the large box resting against her hip. Wolffe glanced everywhere but at what was in that box.

“Y-yes! We are… uh… mm-hmm.” Wolffe stuttered out. He so rarely got caught unprepared or flustered. He was a soldier, born and bred to assess any situation and obtain victory. But here, he was well and truly out of his depth.

“Don’t worry, I get it,” Alma pushed a few of her green tentacles over her shoulder. “It’s always someone’s first time, right? There’s no need to be embarrassed. We embrace all types here,” she gestured to the wide array of fake alien phalluses on the wall, which Wolffe determinedly did  _ not _ look at. “If you’re in need of recommendations, I can walk you through-”

“No!” Wolffe blurted out. “Uh, no. We’re not here for… that.” He looked over to Thire for help. Thire was standing in front of the lift entrance, biting his knuckles to hold back his laughter at Wolffe’s predicament. His grin and shaking shoulders gave him away, though. “We’re here on an investigation. We,” Wolffe dragged Thire to stand next to him. “Have reason to believe that a criminal used the vantage point from one of your windows for espionage purposes.”

Thire cleared his throat. “Yes, we’d like to take a look at your security footage.”

Alma shifted from foot to foot and fiddled with one of the tentacles that had fallen back over her shoulder. “Oh, ummm… unfortunately we have a very strict policy about who we can let see that footage. Privacy concerns for our customers, y’know?”

“Did you not hear us when we said we were investigating someone in connection to espionage?” Wolffe said brusquely, crossing his arms. The nautolan fidgeted even more.

“Look, it’s really up to the store owner, and they’re not even in till tomorrow so-”

“Hey, I get it,” Thire leaned in, flashing a sweet smile. “They’re probably a hardass right?”

She scoffed. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Thire laughed, widening his smile. “Thing is, we also have a boss like that.” He pointed his thumb at himself and Wolffe. “And he wanted this done yesterday. And your boss probably doesn’t want to be bothered with all this. So between you and me-” he leaned in closer, cocking his head at an angle. “I think we can make each other’s jobs much easier. What do you say?”

The Nautolan blushed furiously, turning her cheeks a deep green. “Well, I suppose that could work. So long as you don’t make any copies of the footage. Follow me,” she started leading them to a room towards the back of the shop.

“You plan to flirt your way through this whole investigation?” Wolffe mumbled.

“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”

\---

Wolffe and Thire scanned through hours of sped-up footage from two weeks ago on a tiny holo in a cramped closet-slash-office. Thire snickered to himself everytime Wolffe knocked into one of the boxes and discovered even more lewd equipment. He got a few bruises on the shoulder for that.

“Look!” Wolffe finally shouted out, pausing the holovid. There, in the corner of the shop, was a slight human man peering out the window. Unfortunately, with the angle of the holovid, they couldn’t see what he was doing while he faced the window.

“How can you tell?”

“Because out of all the customers we’ve seen in this video, not one of them has looked out the window. The rest are looking at the displays. But look,” Wolffe starts the footage again, at regular speed. “He spends most of his time at the window. He doesn’t even buy anything!”

“Maybe he’s just a cheapskate? Or a perv?” Thire offered.

“It’s our best bet. Zoom in on his face and run it through the criminal database for Coruscant.” Thire did, and his datapad rapidly scanned through the list of known criminals on the planet before stopping, beeping loudly.

“Here, a human named Nals Kek. His previous charges were trespassing, drug possession, stalking -ew, and, ah-hah! Taking photos on private property without consent. Sounds like our guy.”

Wolffe patted Thire on the back. “Good man, let’s go get this sleemo.”

“What, you don’t want to stay and check out the displays?”

“Let’s  _ go _ !”

\---

The lower levels of Coruscant were much more Wolffe’s speed. It was dark and damp and dangerous. No walking on eggshells with political elites. Everyone knew that everyone else was up to no good. Thire and Wolffe entered one of the many seedy bars that populated the lower levels. It was only midday, but there were still quite a few patrons. They scanned the room for their target.

“There,” Wolffe pointed towards the end of the bar. Nals Kek was facing away from them, hunched over a drink. They walked up silently, bracketing him at the bar.

“Nals Kek?”

“Who’s askin?” he said, not looking up from his glass. Thire leaned in closer, resting his forearm against the bar for Nals to see the red paint of his armor. His eyes widened in panic and he went to spring from his seat. Wolffe put a heavy hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place.

“We’re asking, and you’re going to come with us.” He hauled him off the stool and started to drag him to the exit.

“Hey, he’s got a tab!” The bartender yelled out from behind the counter. Thire reached into Nals jacket pocket and threw a random amount of credits on the bar.

They dragged Nals around the back of the bar. Wolffe tossed him against a stack of empty drink crates.

“This is harassment!” Nals shouted indignantly.

“Yeah, and this is illegal,” Thire held up the photo of Riyo and Fox talking to one another. Nals swallowed nervously.

“I don’t know what that is,” he lied obviously.

“Right, and the Chancellor’s a Sith,” Wolffe retorted sarcastically. “We got you on security footage, we know it was you who took those creep shots. Who hired you?”

“Who’s to say I got paid? Stuff like that is really popular on the holonet.” Wolffe would be slightly impressed if he wasn’t so disgusted. He wasn’t going to give up his employer. Not yet, anyway.

Wolffe grabbed Nals by the front of his shirt, raising him up off the ground to get nose-to-nose with him. “Scum like you don’t do anything unless there’s credits involved. And because of that, you’ve put my brother in danger. So you’re going to talk,” Wolffe threw him back down. “Or I’m going to make you talk.”

“Look, man!” Nals threw his hands up defensively. “Everyone’s taken Seppie money here and there during the war. And I’m putting it back into the Republic economy, so it’s more like a public service-”

“Shut up, shut up,” Wolffe cut in. “Did you just say that Separatists hired you for this job?” Nals furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Y-yeah? Isn’t that why you guys are here instead of the police-” he was cut off by a loud explosion of blaster fire and Nals crumpled to the ground, revealing a smoking hole in the center of his back that went all the way through his body.

“What the FUCK?!” Thire shouted, drawing his pistols. Wolffe followed suit, scanning the area for the shooter.

“There!” He pointed to one of the catwalks at a shadowy figure fleeing the scene, a slender rifle strapped to their back.

They split, Thire going left and Wolffe going right. They pushed through startled Coruscant denizens, hurtled over droids and transports to chase the shooter. But their target had too much of a head start. Both men turned into opposite ends of an alley that the figure had disappeared down. They both crashed into each other and fell to the dirty street with a crash.

“Shit!!!” Wolffe exclaimed, hitting the ground with his fist.

“Did you get a good look at the shooter?” Thire asked, taking off his helmet and rubbing the back of his head where he had hit it.

“No, I never got close enough. Damn it!”

“We have to report back,” Thire stood up, wincing at the pain from running full force into Wolffe. “C’mon,” he extended his hand to help Wolffe up, which he took. Thire’s comm beeped. “Thire.”

_ “It’s Thorn, I just got a report of shots fired in your last reported location. You two okay?” _

“Yeah, Wolffe and are fine. But our photographer is dead. Someone didn’t want us talking to him.”

_ “Fuck.” _

“You said it. We’re coming back to base now.” Thire clicked off his comm and they exited the alleyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The shop scene was inspired by "One good stretch" by 'andeemae' on ao3. It's an absolute riot, check it out. This fic should be finishing up in the next couple weeks. See y'all next time!


	7. Converging Timelines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fox's trial comes to an end, and a series of events are set into motion that will change the Republic forever. For better or for worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get a series of smaller scenes this time, from a couple different points of view. I really like writing about the different clones in the Coruscant Guard and their personalities. Also, thank you to lilhawkeye3 for loaning me her Clone OC, Gunner, who we hear from briefly in this chapter and will hear more from as this story wraps up.

“Fox, you listening?”

Fox looked up at Stone, tuning back into reality. ”Sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. “Just thinking.”

“C’mon, vod, you can’t give up yet,” Stone replied. “Fight’s not over.” 

Fox huffed, bleakly amused. They both knew that was a lie. The opinion of the court and the Chancellor had been made clear over the past few days: Commander Fox was guilty. The remaining proceedings were more for show than anything else. Still, Stone had been working tirelessly to defend him, the least he could do was hold his head high and go out swinging. He hauled himself up from the bench. “Fight’s not over,” Fox repeated, lying to himself.

\---

* _ Somewhere halfway across the galaxy, above Ringo Vinda _ *

_ “Good soldiers follow orders.” _

_ “On your right!” General Tiplar glances behind her, already too late. _

_ Tup’s blaster fires, aim dead on. _

_ Fives shouts out. “Tup, no!” Troopers tackle Tup to the ground. _

\---

Stone sat in Fox’s office with the lights off. His head was killing him. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. He’d sleep when Fox was out of a cell and back where he belonged: by his brothers’ sides. He stared up at the dark ceiling, memories of his first few days on Coruscant.

_ He had come straight from Kamino with a group of other shinies. The grand, sweeping architecture of the Senate building was so unlike the sterile halls of Kamino. He had nearly tripped over his own feet a couple times because he was looking at the expansive ceilings and pillars rather than right in front of him. But then he met Fox. And he was awestruck. _

_ He had stood out from the rest of the Guard with his reverse-painted armor. Despite all of them being the same height, he had towered over everyone. Stone wasn’t the only one left speechless. All the shinies had heard about their new commander, about his heroics at the Battle of Geonosis. Fox and his batchmates were the closest thing clones had to celebrities. He was so confident, so sure of himself in the way he walked and talked. _

Stone rubbed at his sore neck and sat up, looking back over his notes on the datapad. The bright light hurt his eyes, but he powered through. Tomorrow was the last day of Fox’s trial. His stomach turned at the thought. He had done everything he could for his big brother, he really had. But to no avail. Admiral Tarkin and the Senate Guard played dirty, and Stone spent half of his time essentially playing catch up.

Fox had reassured him that Stone was doing an excellent job, that the results of the trial were not his fault.

_ “I’m proud of you, Stone,” Fox said as they made the somber walk back to his cell. “You’ve proven that you’ve earned your rank as commander throughout all this.” _

Stone would have beamed at the praise from Fox, who he had looked up to since day one, if it hadn’t sounded like a goodbye. Stone had commented that this wouldn’t be the last time he proved his rank to Fox, but his commander had just fallen silent after that.

He scrolled back to the top of his datapad screen. Pouring over the alleged evidence one more time. There has to be something that he had missed.

\---

Riyo sat on her couch, knees tucked up to her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs. She had woken in the middle of the night from yet another nightmare. She had a hard time remembering what the nightmare was about. The only thing she recalls is Fox running down a hallway, dragging her behind by the hand. She couldn’t keep up, no matter how fast she ran. She remembers calling out to him as her hand slipped from his, then waking up in a cold sweat.

The tea she had brewed to calm her down lay forgotten on the floor in front of the couch as she stared across the Coruscant skyline. The blinking lights of the buildings and transports resembled stars. 

From her window she could see the Senate dome, the Coruscant Guard barracks, and the Senate Guard building. The last time she had spoken to Fox had been in the Senate Guard. He had yelled at her through the shield of his cell, saying she shouldn’t be there. Shouldn’t be with him. If she didn’t know better, Riyo would have thought Fox was breaking things off with her. She knew realistically that he was just scared, not just for his future but for hers as well. She had already forgiven him in the days she had been caged in her apartment.

Riyo looked over her shoulder at her front door, knowing that two Senate Guards were still posted on the other side. Not to keep her safe, but to keep her prisoner. She sighed, staring back at the window.

She pretended one of the dots of light from the Senate Guard building was Fox’s cell, even though she knew he had no windows. She pretended he was looking through his window, staring back at her and wishing her goodnight.

\---

Fox looked up into the gallery. The chair where Riyo had sat was still empty. He caught a glance of Senator Amidala, her face grim. She met his eye, and she managed to pull a weak attempt at an encouraging smile.

It was the last day of his trial. Stone was making his closing statement. Fox couldn’t bear to listen to his little brother fight a battle he had already lost, so he tuned him out.

He heard Stone go silent, and he looked up at Palpatine. He had a mask to give the impression of deliberating, acting as if he hadn’t already decided the commander’s fate. Fox would listen to this. He would face his death like a soldier.

After a few moments, the Chancellor spoke. “I have examined the arguments of both the prosecution and the defense. Both sides have made their cases valiantly.” He paused for dramatic effect.

“After listening to the cases made, I regret that I have come to a decision. As my duty as Supreme Chancellor, I find Commander CC-1010 guilty of treason and conspiracy against the Republic. This court shall convene in the following days to determine the sentence. Dismissed.”

Fox stared up at the Chancellor as he sealed his fate. He expected to feel devastated, furious. He expected to feel something. But there was only resignation. As the chancellor rose from his chair, he made brief eye contact with Fox. Any regret or trepidation he had put on for the court had disappeared from his face, just for Fox to see. Fox kept his gaze. Understanding washed over him. This is what the Chancellor had wanted all along, though to what end, Fox wasn’t sure.

Not that it mattered.

Fox was escorted back to his cell by Stone and four Senate Guards.

“This isn’t fair,” Stone muttered as he undid Fox’s cuffs. Fox turned around, rubbing at his freed wrists.

“Stone.”

He refused to look up, tucking his chin to his chest. “Stone,” Fox placed a hand on the back of Stone’s neck. “You did everything you could.”

“But I didn’t!” Stone’s head snapped up, revealing the tears brimming in his eyes. “If I had done everything I could, you wouldn’t be here! You wouldn’t-” his voice caught in his throat. “How am I supposed to face our brothers, or your batch mates now? I was supposed to defend you, and I failed.”

Fox moved his hand from the back of Stone’s neck to the back of his head, pulling them together to touch foreheads. “You didn’t fail. You fought bravely,  _ vod _ , but this was always going to happen. This wasn’t a fight we were meant to win. And our brothers will see that. Okay?”

Stone took a deep breath and whispered “Okay.”

Fox pulled away. “Stone, would you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Riyo can’t be punished for my mistakes. Will you help her? I know that she’s capable of taking care of herself, but if she needs anything, I need you and the Guard to be there for her.”

Stone nodded solemnly. “Of course, Commander.” He saluted Fox, and left the cell. Fox dropped down to the bench and started methodically removing the top half of his armor. If this was going to be one of his last few nights of sleep, he might as well be a little comfortable.

Fatigue hit him all at once as he lay down on his side, arm bent under his head in lieu of a pillow. As he drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were about Riyo. Her smiling face, her laughter, her hand in his.

\---

Stone makes the long walk from the Senate Guard cell block to the barracks. He avoids any other troopers on the way, just in case they approach him to ask after the commander. How was he going to break the news to everyone? How was he going to tell his brothers that he had failed?

The door slid open to reveal a group of clones speaking in hushed tones, worry written clearly across all their faces.  _ Great, _ Stone thought, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach.  _ They already heard.  _ Gunner, one of the lieutenants, looks to Stone as he entered.

“Stone! Did you hear what happened?”

Stone pauses in his stride as all the rest of his brothers turn to look at him. They hadn’t been talking about Fox’s trial?

“What’s going on?”

“Well, Flinch was talking to one of his buddies in the 501st, who are back on Coruscant again. Apparently, one of the clones killed a general!”

“What?!” Stone exclaimed, alarmed. A brother would never, never betray one of their Jedi like that.

“And their ARC Trooper, Fives, he went back to Kamino with the brother who shot the general, and he’s gone crazy or something,” Hound added.

Stone’s head spun. He was so behind on his information, when had the 501st returned to Coruscant? He had been so engrossed in Fox’s trial, everything else had passed over his head the past few days. He shook his head slightly to clear his mind.

“Alright, I know this is all troublesome news,” he addressed the group. “But this stays between the Guard and the 501st. No swapping rumors and conspiracies at 79’s with other battalions until this is resolved. The fact you all know about it is bad enough.” He looked past the group of assembled troopers to see Thire and Thorn walking down the hall towards him. “Now I’m sure you all have something you’re supposed to be doing.”

The group scattered in pairs, still whispering to each other about the disturbing news. Stone looked to Thire and Thorn, who had closed the distance of the hallway now. “You two hear about this?”

Thire nodded. “I’ve been coordinating with General Shaak Ti. Arc Trooper Fives has insisted on making his case to the Chancellor. General Ti should be here with him in about two hours.”

“We need to increase security around the Chancellor if that’s happening.”

“Already done,” Thorn replied. The three commanders started walking to Fox’s office, which had turned into their impromptu headquarters over the past couple weeks. “Speaking of the Chancellor,” Thorn said as they closed the door. There was hesitation in his voice, like he didn’t want to ask. “How did it go today?”

Stone sank into the uncomfortable desk chair with a huff. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling to keep tears from forming in his eyes again.

“It’s done. He declared Fox guilty.”

A cold silence fell over the room. Sorrow for their big brother, their leader, was palpable. The other two men also sat down, looking defeated.

After a long, drawn out moment, Thire spoke again. “Are they going to execute him?” His voice was small, he didn’t raise his gaze from a spot on the floor.

Stone thought for a bit, unsure of how to respond. Does he take the sensitive, optimistic angle? Or does he tell the truth?

There’s no sense insulting his little brother by lying.

“It’s not official yet, but yeah.” Stone dug his thumb into the palm of his other hand, trying desperately to keep his emotions in check. He had failed Fox, the least he could do was not break down in front of his fellow commanders.

Thorn surged up from his seat, fists balled at his side. He swiftly donned his helmet, but his shaking shoulders betrayed him. He practically broke the panel getting the door open, and he stormed out.

With another heavy sigh, Stone hauled himself out of his chair to the opposite corner of Fox’s office. He reached behind the file cabinet and pulled out a bottle of amber liquid and two glasses. He returned to the desk and poured himself and Thire two hearty drinks.

“Don’t tell Fox I know about his stash,” Stone said, the faintest bit of humor in his voice. Thire laughed in spite of himself. He took the drink gratefully.

“He’s such a hypocrite. He’s always busting us for this kind of contraband.”

“Yeah, and then he confiscates it. Where do you think he got this?” Stone indicated to the bottle. He offered his glass for a cheers.

Thire held his glass in the air as well. He looked to Stone, a lost look in his eyes. “What do we do now?”

“Our duty.” Stone clinked their glasses together and promptly downed the contents in one gulp. The nondescript alcohol was absolutely awful, but the burn in his throat was the slightest bit comforting.

Thire followed suit, grimacing at the taste and the burn. “Right,” he grumbled, reaching for his helmet. “Our duty.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this chapter and are excited for the next one! I've been busy, but I'm going to make an effort to get updates out on at least a weekly basis. As always, I live for your comments and kind words. Be sure to go give some love to lilhawkeye3 and flybynite19 on tumblr, because they're the ones who got me into this ship in the first place. They're writing and artwork is absolutely incredible!


	8. Changing Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fox has been declared guilty of treason, but the Coruscant Guard can't afford to worry about that right now. 501st ARC Trooper has come to Coruscant to make give the Chancellor his conspiracy theory about the inhibitor chips. Elsewhere on Coruscant, Riyo remembers why she became a servant of the people in the first place.  
> The clones struggle between their desire to do their duty and their desire to do what they think is right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this chapter took so long, I didn't think this segment was good enough yet. So, this chapter lines up with the beginning of season 6, with one very important detail altered to change everything.  
> Gunner is a clone oc that belongs to @lilhawkeye3, who was very kind to let me borrow him for this story. You all should check her out on tumblr, her fics are fantastic.  
> Nite is a clone oc that @lilhawkeye3 and @flybynite19 have joint custody of, and both agreed I could use him as well. Thanks again, dears!  
> Flinch is my own oc.

Riyo couldn’t fall back asleep after another evening of nightmares, no matter how much she tossed and turned in her bed. So she gave up and got dressed instead to work on drafting and editing various bills. In the back of her mind she realized that it was a fruitless effort. After all, she had been barred from communicating with anyone. And even if she was released from house arrest, her senate career was all but over.

But the work kept her from going insane. So it was worth it. She poured over the same GAR Stimulation Bill that she had been practicing her speech on with Fox.

Her thoughts flickered back to similar memories of the two of them in her office, now bittersweet, the both of them working on separate projects and giving each other advice. What she wouldn’t give to go back to all of that.

She shook her head, clearing her head of such thoughts. She can’t think like that, or she’ll go mad.

“Psst,” sounded in her office.

Riyo scanned the room, looking for the noise. She was the only one in her office.

_ Fantastic,  _ she thought.  _ I’ve already gone mad. _

“Psst!” Echoed again. Riyo stood up, spooked. “Senator Chuchi!” The voice said again, and Riyo traced the source to the vent in the ceiling, of all places.

She squirted her eyes, peering up into the vent. “Goddesses above, Maja?!”

Her young aide waved feverishly from behind the vent. “Hi, Senator Chuchi! I was sent to come get you.” She started fiddling with the other side of the vent, no doubt to get it unfastened from the ceiling.

Riyo’s eyebrows drew together, perplexed. “You can’t be here!” She whispered harshly. Her eyes darted to her office door. The Senate Guards were only outside her apartment, but who knows if they could hear her from her office. She returned her focus to the vent as she heard the grate scrape from its place in the tile. Maja popped her head out, purple braids flipping upside down.

“Your arrest is, pardon my language, senator, Bantha shit and everybody knows it. You shouldn’t be here, and some people want to talk to you.” Maja’s face was flushed from both hanging upside down and from the exhilaration of sneaking around like this. She reached down and extended her hand for Riyo to take. “It’s time you stopped hiding.”

Riyo wrung her hands like she always did when she was nervous, looking back and forth between Maja and the door shielding them from the Senate Guards. “You’re right, Maja.”

Riyo climbed up onto her desk. With help from Maja, she was able to pull herself up into the vent. When she was securely in the metal air duct, Maja refastened the vent to the ceiling. It was a tight fit, and Riyo sent out brief thanks for her petite size and her lack of claustrophobia.

Maja was able to turn around in the duct and started crawling on her hands and knees. “Follow me,” she whispered, her voice bouncing off the metal sheeting. Riyo began to crawl.

\---

The two women travelled through the air ducts of the senate apartment complex for a number of minutes. Objectively, they hadn’t traveled very far, but Riyo was breathing heavily. How is Padme always doing stuff like this?

They approached another vent. Riyo could hear hushed voices talking animatedly in the room below them. Maja positioned herself on the other side of the vent.

“We’re here,” she mouthed, before tapping quickly three times on the vent. The voices in the room halted immediately.

“She’s back!” One voice said.

Another voice followed, “Let them in!” The vent was unscrewed from the room, and a man’s face poked into the air duct. Riyo recognized him as Senator Ultan, from the Outer Rim planet Horox III. He looked between the two women, relief spreading across his face.

“She’s here!” He called into the room. He backed out of the vent, holding his hands out to help Riyo and Maja down. Maja indicated for Riyo to go first.

“After you, my lady,” she smiled.

Riyo lowered herself into the apartment as gracefully as she could manage. She sent out yet another thanks that she had chosen to wear pants that night. She surveyed the rest of the inhabitants of the room.

Gathered in the apartment were the senators from Sammun, Ajan Kloss, and Askaji.  _ Outer Rim Senators _ , Riyo noted.

The Sammunian senator, a lanky green woman named Iffa, spread her arms in greeting. “Senator Chuchi, I’m glad you made it here safe.”

“Thank you, Senator Iffa. But… what am I doing here exactly?” The four senators looked between each other.

Senator Ultan spoke up. “We’ve been talking- and we’re not the only ones. We think…” he squared his shoulders to gather courage. “The chancellor has gone too far this time. Placing you under house arrest for no real reason. Something needs to be done.”

The Askaji representative, Yitha, chimed in. “We’re assembling a protest of sorts. Most, if not all, of the Outer Rim representatives are going to occupy the Rotunda and call for the chancellor to step down. With any luck, other more influential systems will join us when they see our numbers.”

Riyo’s eyes widened. A formal protest within the Senate? That’s unheard of, it’s political suicide (and literal suicide, depending on who you’re protesting against).

“I’m supportive of your bold plan. But, why did you have to break me out of my house arrest to tell me this?”

The last senator, Ramna from Ajan Kloss, spoke. “We want you to lead us. You’re the whole reason we decided to do this. Any one of us could be next if we don’t do something.”

Riyo looked across all the other senators, who were staring at her expectantly. They had all entered the senate after her, new additions to the Republic. They were all young, inexperienced. Idealistic.

Just like her.

She grinned, determination brimming in her chest. She hadn’t felt anything other than despair and numbness these past few days.  _ Enough taking the hits, Chuchi. Time to fight back. _

“It’s time for Palpatine to retire.”

\---

The wind whipped across the landing pad as the transport carrying General Shaak Ti, Doctor Nala Se, and ARC Trooper Fives touched down. Thorn called out orders through the guards shared helmet frequency. All of his men were on edge. He was too, but he couldn’t show it.

The ramp from the ship lowered and General Ti and Nala Se descended flanking Fives, who was restrained on a repulsor gurney. Thorn cringed, thankful that his helmet hid his face. He’d never met Fives before, but even so it was clear that his brother was hurting. Thorn noted the reactions of the men on the platform as Nala Se appeared. Most of them tensed, shoulders nearly touching the bottoms of their helmets. They may not know Fives, but they know Nala Se. And none of the Coruscant Guard was eager to be reminded of their time on Kamino.

Thorn and three other clones fell into formation, leading the new arrivals inside where Chancellor Palpatine was waiting for them. The general and the chancellor began talking back and forth, which Thorn tuned out to instead check in over the comms with the trooper pairs stationed throughout the building.

“-I have my security here,” said Palpatine, gesturing to Thorn standing behind him. Thorn tuned back in when he realized he was being talked about. “I want this soldier to feel he is having a fair say in this matter.”

Thorn felt bile rise in his throat at the Chancellor’s comment.  _ Just like you gave Fox a fair say, huh? _ He buried the bitter thought quickly. Thinking like that will put him next in the queue to be accused of treason.

Shaak Ti and Nala Se left the room, and Palpatine motioned for Thorn and his men to retreat to the corners of the room. Far enough to not overhear their conversation, but close enough to step in if needed.

Thorn kept his eyes locked on the two men. He could only see Fives’ face from his vantage point, and he did his best to read his lips. Something about a Separtist plot?

_ Damn Seppies, putting chips in clones and taking creep shots of senators. Don’t they have anything better to do? _

Fives’ body language quickly changed as he listened to the Chancellor speak, going from disoriented yet determined to shock and fury. With little more warning, Fives pounced on the chancellor, murder in his eyes.

Thorn and his men rushed in, trying to pull Fives off of Palpatine. The chancellor was crying out, playing the helpless old man card. Thorn was able to separate Fives from Palpatine, getting a sharp elbow to the head for his efforts. The 501st trooper slipped from his grip, eyes darting around wildly as General Ti and Nala Se ran back into the room.

“He tried to kill me!” Palpatine yelled, panicked. Fives barreled through two new troopers showing up to the commotion, escaping down the hall.

“Fives!” Shaak Ti called out, sprinting to catch up to him.

“Call in the Senate Guard, we need backup,” Thorn barked into his comm. He hated to have to rely on those useless blue bastards, but since the chancellor had put the leader of the Coruscant Guard on death row, Thorn couldn’t be everywhere at once. “Have them meet us at the chancellor’s office, we’re moving him there now.”

\---

After handing off the chancellor to the Senate Guard at his office, Thorn got to work organizing a grid search of Coruscant for Fives. The chancellor had insisted that he be found alive. For some reason, a shiver had been sent down Thorn’s spine when Palpatine had said that.

They worked well into the night, the entire guard either out on the streets or patrolling the Senate building. Thorn was looking over one of the many catwalks of the city overlooking one of the lower levels. He wordlessly acknowledged Stone coming up the walkway to join him.

“Anything yet?”

“Nothing. Just sent a squad to check out 79’s, but so far…” Thorn swept his hand out, indicating to the bustling street below. “Problem is, he knows all our tricks.”

Stone hummed in agreement, leaning against the railing. “You were in the room with them. Why would he try to kill the Chancellor?”

Thorn shrugged. He truly didn’t know. “Maybe the Kaminoans are right. Maybe he has got a virus or something.”

Stone looked unconvinced. He fidgeted with his arm guards. “What if… what if he knows something we don’t? About the Chancellor?”

Thorn turned to face Stone fully, alarmed. He took off his helmet, paranoid that his words might be heard through the comms. Stone followed suit. “Stone, are you crazy? You can’t talk like that! Look what happened to Fox.”

“Don’t lecture me on what happened to Fox!” Stone shot back, scowling. “I was the one who was there with him the whole time!”

All the heat rising in Thorn fell away, feeling guilty for forgetting that Stone knew better than the rest of them the injustices brought upon their leader. He sighed, “Right, sorry.” He looked at the helmet in his hands, the white and red staring back at him. “Look, my point is, it doesn’t matter what Fives does or does not know. We swore an oath to the Republic, and the Chancellor is the Republic. So we bring him in, no matter what.”

“But it’s not right.”

“That’s not our job to decide.”

“I know you don’t think that’s true.”

“Just leave it alone,  _ vod _ ,” Thorn looked at Stone, eyes pleading. “We can’t lose another one of us.”

Stone went to reply, to reassure Thorn that he wasn’t going anywhere, but their comms beeped, interrupting him. Any words he had said would’ve sounded hollow, anyways.

_ “Commanders, we’ve located ARC Trooper Fives in Sector I-9, Hangar 18.” _

Stone and Thorn shoved their helmets, walking briskly to meet up with the other troopers. “Hold your position, we’ll be there soon.”

\---

Thorn silently motioned for the group of troopers to fall in behind him. The only people in the hangar were Fives, Captain Rex, and General Skywalker. The general and the captain being there made Thorn incredibly nervous. Whose side would they be on?

They would be on the side of the Republic, just like him.

He and his squad spread out as they entered the hangar, moving like shadows in between stacks of crates and shelving units.

Thorn could see Fives yelling to Rex and Skywalker, who were both trapped in a ray shield. He was just able to hear what the trio was saying.

“He’s in on it! I don’t know to what extent. But I know he orchestrated much of this, he told me in the medical bay!”

Thorn glanced across the way to Stone, who met his look. Fives was talking about the Chancellor. Thorn thought back to what Stone had said on the walkway.

Skywalker was agitated now, shouting about how the Chancellor wasn’t capable of whatever Fives was accusing him of. Thorn watched Fives for a few more seconds. He seemed unsteady, disoriented. He was stumbling on his feet, like he’d been drugged. He could genuinely know something that the entire army needed to know. But it wasn’t Thorn’s job to listen. It was his job to bring him in, to protect the Republic.

“What are we doing, Commander?” Gunner whispered over their internal helmet channel.

“Hold your positions, Stone and I are going in.” He and Stone stepped out of their hiding spots. Stone’s weapon was lowered but still at the ready.

Thorn had watched the conversation between Fives and the Chancellor. He had seen the genuine fear in the clone’s eyes.

“Trooper,” Thorn called out, making their presence known. Fives whirled around, startled. He snatched up the captain’s weapons that he had left on a crate.

“Stay back!”

“Fives, no!” Rex pounded his fist against the ray shield.

Thorn put his hands up, earning a confused look from Stone. “Fives, we don’t want to hurt you. Look,” he reached slowly, taking off his helmet. “We’re here to listen.” He motioned for Stone to holster his blaster.

Thorn’s pulse was going crazy. He was committing treason. He was asking his brother to commit treason with him.

Stone slowly holstered his weapon and removed his helmet. He kept both his hands visible for Fives to see at all times. He shot a look at Thorn that said “I’m following your lead.”

Fives, seeing them holster their weapons, calmed down slightly. He still had Rex’s blasters leveled at them. That wasn’t what made Thorn nervous, he’s had weapons pointed at him plenty of times.

“Fives,” Thorn kept his voice as even as possible. “I was there, in the medical bay. I couldn’t hear what he said, but I saw that you were scared. What did the chancellor say to you that had you react like that?”

Fives swayed, blinking hard to try and clear his head. “You, you won’t believe me.”

“Trooper, what did he say?”

Fives pressed his palm to his temple. “He said that… the chips in our heads were there to make us do what anyone wanted, what he wanted! When he ordered us, we wouldn’t be able to resist.”

“Is that what happened to your friend Tup?” Stone asked gently. Fives shook his head.

“No, that was a mistake. He wasn’t supposed to kill General Tiplar, not yet.”

“Yet?” General Skywalker piped up from behind Fives. He looked horrified at the implications of what Fives was saying, no longer convinced that these were the ramblings of a mad man.

“That’s what he said, ‘not yet’.”

“These chips, they’re in all of us?” Thorn asked. Fives nodded. “And they’re to make us follow the Chancellor’s orders, even if we don’t want to?” Fives nodded again, more violently this time.

A silence fell in the hangar as they all tried to process what Fives had just told all of them. Then Fives fainted, armor and blasters clattering to the ground.

“Fives!” Captain Rex called out.

“Get this ray shield off,” General Skywalker ordered. Thorn shot out the shield generator on the ceiling, then motioned for the four other troopers to come out of their hiding spots.

Rex hastily took his blasters off the floor and holstered them, before cradling Fives’ head in his lap. “Fives, can you hear me?”

Thorn knelt down on the other side of the unconscious Fives, checking his pulse. Still alive.

“Nite,” he waved over the lieutenant. “You’ve taken field medic training, right?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Nite shooed Thorn out of his way, taking his spot beside the ARC trooper. He pulled out the compact emergency med kit from behind his back.

“His pupils are going crazy, he was definitely drugged.” Nite rummaged through the supplies and pulled out a small syringe. “This should help,”

“‘Should’? You mean you don’t know?” Rex asked, panic rising in his voice.

“Can’t make it any worse.” Nite jammed the syringe into the side of Fives neck.

Nothing happened. If anything, Fives’ body went even more still.

“What did you do?!” Rex was freaking out now. He shook Fives. “Fives, come on!”

Then Fives’ eyes flew open, and he surged up from lying down, gasping loudly then coughing violently. Rex pat him on the back, trying to soothe his brother.

Fives grabbed his head, moaning in pain. “My brain feels like it’s leaking out my ears,” he complained.

“I don’t think I have anything for that,” Nite commented.

Fives looked around, now aware of the many people surrounding him. He tensed, his mind more coherent but still wary about who he could trust. Stone signalled for the other Coruscant Guards to step back, giving him room.

General Skywalker was pacing the back of the hangar, deep in thought. He was clearly debating with himself on what to do.

“Fives,” Rex gripped his brother’s shoulders. “Did the chancellor really tell you that those chips in our heads are to make us kill the Jedi?”

“He didn’t say it in those words, but basically.”

Gunner, Nite, Flinch, and Hound all started murmuring to each other, clearly disturbed.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Hound spoke to the whole group. “The Jedi are helping the Republic. Why would the Chancellor want to hurt them?”

“And if these chips are really in all of us, that means that they had to put them in before the war even started,” Gunner added.

“Did the Chancellor start the war on purpose?” Flinch asked. It rippled across all the assembled clones.

Stone’s head shot up suddenly. “Fox.” The rest of them looked at Stone. “Remember what Thire found out from his investigation? That guy, Nals Kek, said that Seppies hired him to take those photos of Fox and Senator Chuchi. He got shot before he could say anything more.”

“If Separatists took those photos, then how did Tarkin-oh.” Flinch paled.

“The Senate Guard and Admiral Tarkin framed Fox and the Senator, and they don’t answer to anyone but the Chancellor.”

“This, this is crazy!” General Skywalker exclaimed, wrestling with what he thought was true his whole life, that the Chancellor was a good and honest man.

“General, I don’t like it either, but I know that you know that I’m not lying,” Fives said, standing on shaky legs. “We have to warn the other Jedi.”

“We need to get these chips out of our heads,” Thorn added.

“We need to rescue Fox from the Senate Guard,” Stone listed. “He’ll know what to do next.”

The General exhaled forcefully, trying to center himself and his thoughts. “Okay, okay we split up. Fives, how long does it take to remove these chips?”

“About fives minutes each.”

“Can you show others how to remove them?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, you go with the Coruscant Guard, show they’re medic, then meet Rex and I at the Jedi Temple. I’m going to inform the Council.” he looked across the assembled clones. “This stays with us, what we are doing right now borders on treason. No need to spread panic or implicate anyone else if this all goes sideways. Anyone who wants to back out, say it now.”

All the clones remained silent, each with determined looks.

Skywalker nodded. “Move quickly, move quietly, and stay safe.”

They all put their helmets on and split off, their worlds having been shattered around them.

\---

_ *On the upper level of Coruscant, the Chancellor’s office* _

“Chancellor Palpatine, you wished to see me.”

“Ah, yes, Commander Foster,” Palpatine turned around, smiling. “I was hoping to discuss the matter of the clone commander in your custody.” He casually strolled around the large office, Commander Foster following him.

“It seems that the number of traitors among the clones grows by the day, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I do, Chancellor.”

“With this most recent attempt on my life, is it not a risk to have two known traitors on the planet?”

Commander Foster smirked, realizing what the Chancellor was driving at. “It is incredibly dangerous, sir. Though there is not much that can be done about the trooper still at large until he is captured.”

The chancellor nodded. “But the commander is in the Senate Guard holding cells, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then take care of it,” Palpatine, his demeanor changing from the veneer of a benevolent ruler to who he truly was, to the man Commander Foster knew.

“At once, my lord.”

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! What's going to happen to Fox and the rest of the Coruscant Guard? Is anyone going to try and stop Riyo and her merry band of Outer Rim senators? I have no idea yet, but it's gonna be a trip either way!  
> Thanks again for everyone's amazing comments. They make my day every time and whenever I'm having a particularly rough moment I go back and reread them. Let me know what y'all think of this chapter and I'll see you all again soon with the next update (I promise)


	9. Living, Dying, and Everything In-Between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are set into motion. Will they be able to pull them off?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is some canon-typical prejudice against clones in this chapter, just fair warning. Nothing too crazy. This chapter also might be a bit shorter, but I wanted to make up for not updating for so long with my last chapter. Hope y'all enjoy! I think the next chapter will be longer, but it'll be the last one. Then on to the epilogue!  
> Clone medic Hart is @lilhawkeye3 's OC (thanks for letting me borrow your boy)

_ “Can you stay tonight?” _

_ “I have to be back before sunrise, but yeah.” _

_ Fox pulled the comforter up over Riyo and himself. She settled beside him, resting her head on his chest. Fox traced circles across Riyo’s shoulder blade. They had been together for months now, but it still amazed him that her skin was so soft. Her hair was just as soft, he noted as it tickled his chest where she lay. Everything about Riyo spoke of warmth and comfort, something Fox hadn’t known in his life until he had met her. It made his heart feel like it was going to leap out his chest. _

_ “I can hear you thinking,” Riyo muttered against his skin, turning her head to look at him. “What’s the matter?” _

_ “Nothing’s wrong,” Fox reassured, bringing up his other hand to tuck loose strands of hair behind her ear. He ran a thumb across her tattoos, which she leaned into. “It’s just, I think I’m still not used to this.” _

_ “Not used to being loved?” _

_ Fox nodded, breaking eye contact with her. They had talked about his fear of letting himself be loved before. Riyo was gentle and understanding with him, like always, but he knew it made her sad when he thought like that. _

_ “Hey,” Riyo slid her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. “I’m here to stay. Whatever you go through, we’ll work it out together.” She kissed his knuckles gently. “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she added, a humorous smile gracing her lips. _

_ Fox let out a quiet laugh. “I’m aware. And I know several imprisoned bounty hunters who would agree.” Riyo giggled, ducking her head back down to his chest. _

_ “You’ll let me love you?” she asked, resting her chin against his sternum. _

_ “Till I die.” _

_ “And after?” she whispered. _

_ “Then too.” _

_ “Good,” Riyo leaned forward, kissing Fox chastely, which he reciprocated.  _

_ Riyo settled back down against his chest, his arms wrapped snugly around her shoulders. He stayed awake for a half hour or so, listening to the steady rise and fall of Riyo’s breathing before the gentle rhythm lulled him to sleep. _

\---

Fox was woken violently from his sleep by two sets of hands roughly grabbing him and hauling him from the bench he was lying on. He flailed, attacking blindly at his attackers on instinct. He managed to get a couple solid hits in before his hands got pinned behind him and cuffs were tightened on his wrists. In the low red light of his cell Fox was able to make out that the attackers were two Senate Guards, the silhouettes of their helmet plumes giving them away.

The sinking feeling in his gut told Fox that something was wrong. He was vaguely aware that it was still the middle of the night, and Stone was nowhere to be seen. Still, Fox was going to go out swinging, like a soldier. If they were here to kill him, he was going to make them work for it.

Hands trapped behind his back, he roundhouse kicked at one of the guard’s head, his foot connecting solidly with his helmet. The guard staggered back, clutching at his head.

The second guard grabbed Fox from behind, wrapping his arms around his torso to restrain him. Fox threw his head back, hearing a satisfying crack of the guard’s nose as he did.

“We need backup!” The first guard yelled out the doorway, and two more Senate Guards filed into the small cell. All four of them pulled out and activated electrified batons. They all surged forward towards Fox.

Despite being greatly outnumbered and without the use of his arms, Fox was able to hold his own for a few more seconds. He’s pretty sure he cracked at least five ribs total, and the first guard he attacked would never be able to walk without limping again. But one guard jabbed his baton squarely into the center of Fox’s back, sending painful electricity coursing through his body.

He gritted his teeth, trying not to cry out at the pain. A second jab from one of the batons had him crashing to his knees, his muscles spasming.

“Not so tough now, huh clone?” One of the guards sneered, snatching Fox by the front of his blacks and punching him hard across the mouth. The other three guards joined in, punching and kicking blindly at Fox. He did his best to protect his head from the worst of it. His ribs and sides erupted in fire, and his spine was still throbbing from the electricity.

Satisfied that they had beaten the fight out of him, two of the Senate Guard gripped Fox under his arms, bringing him to his feet and dragged him out of his cell and down the hall. Fox tried to keep up and walk on his own, but he kept tripping as the guards dragged him, which earned him more swift hits to his face. He could taste blood in his mouth.

They entered a room that Fox could only assume was the Senate Guard’s control center, filled with illuminated screens and maps of the Senate dome. Commander Foster stood in the center of the room, helmet off and hand folded officially behind his back.

The two Senate Guards threw Fox to the floor at Commander Foster’s feet, knocking all the air out of Fox’s lungs as he fell.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Foster said. “Dismissed.” Both guards saluted and exited the control center, leaving Commander Foster and Commander Fox alone.

Fox, with some effort, pushed himself off the floor and onto his knees. He was still hunched over and panting, the pain in his sides not letting him straighten or catch his breath. He glared up at Commander Foster, who met him with a look of contempt and indifference.

“The chancellor has ordered your execution,” Foster stated. Fox just kept staring. He knew this was coming.

“Traditionally, this would be done by firing squad,” the commander pulled out his blaster, inspecting it carefully. “But I decided that wouldn’t be necessary. Too much wasted time and effort for one clone.”

“Also your men can’t aim for shit,” Fox shot back, smirking at the annoyance that flashed across Foster. “You might want to step a little closer. Wouldn’t want you to miss.”

“Insolent bastard. You’re all the same: crass, unthinking. Snarling and barking up to the very end. You all preach the importance of loyalty and duty, but really, you’re too stupid to know anything other than blindly following orders.”

“At least we’re willing to die for something bigger than us. The same can’t be said for you.’

“You truly don’t see it, do you? That ‘something bigger’ you and your ‘brothers’ have torn yourselves apart for? It doesn’t exist. Face it, millions of you have died for a lie.” Foster leveled his blaster at Fox’s forehead. 

Fox kept his gaze steady, staring down the barrel of the blaster. “Well, what’s one more dead clone then?”

Foster waivered, seemingly unnerved by Fox’s lack of fear. He was waiting for Fox to yield, to beg for his life, but he wouldn’t give him that. Setting his jaw, Fox leaned into the blaster, pressing his forehead into the cool metal.

“It’d be impressive if you managed to miss now.”

He wouldn’t show fear in front of this man, he was trained for scenarios like this. That doesn’t mean Fox wasn’t scared. He was terrified beyond belief. Fox was always meant to die, that’s what he and his brothers were born for. And he had accepted that, almost welcomed it. He would gladly die for the Republic.

Now though, in the final moments of his life, Fox could only think of Riyo. The one person who had been able to convince him that he was irreplaceable, unique. When she had first kissed him, he remembered thinking  _ “I will gladly live for this, for her.” _

Staring past the blaster at Foster, Fox sent a quick message to whoever, whatever was out there (the force, the moon goddesses, the universe).

_ Someone, anyone, please tell her I’m sorry. _

Foster went to speak, clearly trying to get the last word in (which was much more important than completing his mission), when Fox heard the door behind him woosh open. Foster’s head snapped up at the sound, and before he could aim his blaster at the newcomers, two stunning shots rang out and hit him square in the chest. Commander Foster crumpled unceremoniously to the floor.

“Fox!” Stone called out, running over to undo his brother’s cuffs. Thorn walked the perimeter of the room, making sure no one else was there, before starting the process of dragging the four unconscious guards from the hall into the room.

“Are you okay, Fox?” Stone asked, scanning over him for injuries. Fox rubbed at his wrists, doing a quick assessment of his wounds. He was badly bruised, and he probably had a cracked rib or two.

“I’ve had worse.”

Stone offered a hand to help Fox up, which he took gratefully. “Stone, what’s going on? What happened?”

“The whole kriffin’ galaxy’s gone crazy, that’s what happened,” Thorn grunted out, tossing the fourth guard into a pile in the corner. “Help me cuff these guys, would ya?”

\---

“No fuckin’ way,” Fox sat up on the med bay table, looking bewildered at the chip encased in glass that Hart held between his fingers.

“I’ve pulled these from nine troopers now. Everyone from the hangar, myself, and three other clones who are on medical rotation.” Hart shook his head. “Had to tell them it was a vaccination against a brain parasite.”

Fox ran his hand across the small incision on the side of his head, still trying to work out how all of this could be happening.

“I would have never shaved my head if I knew I didn’t have to,” Fives muttered in the corner, crossing his arms. “Damn droids got jokes.”

“What do we do now?” Thorn asked Fox. He became very aware that everyone was looking at him. Right, he was their commander.

“Right, okay,” Fox hopped off the table, pacing the room. He can’t break down, not right now. This is what Foster had meant when he said all his brothers had died for a lie. The chancellor, the man he had spent nearly three years serving dutifully, had secretly been the enemy the whole time. All his fallen brothers, his squad from Geonosis, Wolffe’s first battalion, every single mangled shiny he’d comforted in the dead of night…

“Fox.” Stone put a heavy hand on Fox’s shoulder. “We need you here right now. I know it’s a lot, but we have to wait to freak out until this is all over.”

Fox inhaled a deep shuddering breath, nodding at Stone’s words.

“Okay, here’s what we do…”

\---

Getting into the Senate dome without being spotted was more difficult than anticipated. None of the senators had been trained in going unnoticed, their whole careers based on being as public as possible.

“There are guards everywhere,” Iffa hissed to the assembled senators. Riyo squinted, trying to make out the top of the entrance steps. Sure enough, there were nearly twice as many guards as usual. Stranger still, Riyo noticed, was that the guards seemed to be mostly Senate Guards instead of the usual clones.

“Someone tried to kill the chancellor a couple hours ago,” Ramna explained. Everyone turned to look at her in shock. She simply shrugged. “I’m not the only one with component aides.”

“This is a mistake, maybe we shouldn’t make this move today,” Ultan said, eyes darting around nervously. “We need to regroup, try again later-”  
“No!” Riyo interrupted. “This is exactly what has kept the chancellor in power for so long: fear. We act now, or not at all. You asked me to lead you, so are you all with me or not?”

The four senators looked to each other, having an entire conversation through looks. Senator Ultan ducked his head, embarrassed at his moment of weakness.

“We’re with you, Chuchi,” Yitha spoke.

Riyo scanned the surrounding streets of the Senate dome, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

“There,” she pointed. “The service entrances.”

The group followed her finger to the hustle and bustle off to the side of the dome. Droids and senate aides were rushing about, carrying various crates and checking supply manifests. There were still plenty of guards, but from the looks of it they were all from the Coruscant Guard.

Iffa pointed out that fact. “Do you really think that will be any better?”

Riyo really didn’t know, but they had to do something. “New arrivals usually get put on that shift. They’re less experienced, and they’re still used to Kamino time, so they’re likely dead on their feet.”

She saw Ultan and Yitha exchange a knowing look, likely silently commenting on how a pantoran senator knows so much about clone habits. Senatorial gossip is an important factor of their jobs, and despite them being allies for the moment, old habits die hard.

Riyo soldiered on; she didn’t have time to be embarrassed about her newly exposed relationship. “Come on,” she ducked down, staying close to the buildings and leading her new friends to the service entrance.

\---

Despite the next day quickly approaching, the senate was still buzzing with activity. Official senate business ended hours ago, but politicians were still preparing for debates, meeting with local representatives over holograms, and working to get the edge on their competition.

The rotunda, however, was completely empty. The giant room was eerie to Riyo. She stepped into her pod, the other senators following suit next to her.

“Senator Yitha, send out a senate wide message for an emergency session in the rotunda.”

“Will people actually come when they see that?” Yitha looked skeptical.

“Someone is bound to, and then they’ll tell others, and so on.” Riyo was quickly realizing the extent of her love/hate relationship with gossip.

“What if the chancellor shows up?” Ultan asked.

Riyo hit a few buttons on her pod’s control panel, detaching it from the wall to float into the rotunda.

“Even better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Fox is still alive. I could never do anything too awful to him, I don't have the strength. I added that little flashback at the beginning to hopefully ease the blow. The next chapter is going to be a doozy to write, so bare with me. Thank you for your kind words!


	10. Reconciliation and Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to a head in this final chapter. Fox and his men work with the Jedi to confront the chancellor directly, unaware that at the same time Riyo was trying to lead the Republic out of tyranny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I say that this is the last chapter, and it is! the next chapter is technically an epilogue, because I can't help myself. This chapter is roughly twice as long as normal because I wanted to wrap things up correctly. I hope you guys enjoy this latest installment!
> 
> -Chapter has been edited to correct grammatical and name errors-

The last time Fox had been inside the Jedi Temple was during his investigation of the bombing. He was reminded about the ugly, tangled mess that whole situation was as he, Thorn, Stone, and Thire ascended the main stairs of the temple. Personally, Fox thought the Jedi were nothing more than one big headache. Their “space magic”, as he has heard some of the other men call it, always complicated things.

However, they were not without their uses.

Fox and his men crested the stairs to Jedi conversing in small groups. He recognized Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, and Ki Adi Mundi right away. Fives separated from the group to join his general, who was having a spirited conversation (argument) with Master Windu.

“Fox!” A familiar gruff voice called out, drawing his attention to another clone. Wolffe peeled off from his conversation with his general Plo Koon, running to meet Fox. “Glad you could join the fun,” he grabbed the back of Fox’s head to bring their foreheads together in a brief touch.

“Rex and General Skywalker were able to convince the council?”

“Better than that,” Wolffe said. “Apparently they’ve been suspicious of the Chancellor for some time, and this was the evidence they needed to act. General Skywalker sent Rex off on some other assignment.” Wolffe compulsively checked his gear, clearly brimming with pre-conflict adrenaline. “And here I thought I wouldn’t see any action on this forsaken planet.”

“Hopefully it will not come to that, Commander,” General Plo said as he approached the clones. “We will resolve this as peacefully as possible.”

Fox looked at the assembled Jedi and clones, all checking and couple-checking their various lightsabers and blasters. “Right,” Fox muttered, pulling on his helmet. He had a sinking feeling that this was going to end like most things end during war: in blood.

\---

The Senate chambers were echoing with angry shouts of hundreds of senators.

“This is outrageous!”

“Separatist sympathisers!”

“The chancellor is the only reason your backwater planets are a part of the Republic!”

“Senators!” Riyo shouted over the din. “I hear you, I do. Until recently, I may have been inclined to agree with your concerns. But please, I ask you to hear me out.”

She was met with more yelling. It was hard to pick out individual voices, but she heard a few choice insults thrown her way. There were also quite a few jabs about her “affection” for clones (that were so creative she was almost impressed).

Riyo kept trying to power through the noise, but no one was paying attention. Her throat was starting to close up with nerves, her palms were starting to itch and sweat. She was bleakly reminded of her first week in the senate, despairing about the hopelessness of it all. What was one voice against thousands?

“Naboo wants to hear what Senator Chuchi has to say,” Senator Amidala’s pod floated out to the center of the rotunda. Riyo sent a grateful nod her friend’s way. The addition of Senator Amidaala’s voice quieted the assembled senators somewhat.

“Chandrila agrees with Naboo,” Mon Mothma’s pod floated up to the other side of Riyo.

“Alderaan would also like to hear the concerns of these senators,” Bail Organa called out. At the addition of Senator Organa, the chamber quieted to its typical low murmur. Riyo breathed a shuddering sigh, releasing some of her nerves.

“Thank you, senators.” She straightened her spine and soldiers, collecting her thoughts.  _ The moment of truth, Chuchi. This is why you became a politician in the first place. _ “Calling for Chancellor Palpatine’s resignation is not a decision my colleagues and I came to lightly. We recognize all the good he has done for us during the war against the Separatists. However, we have seen during his extended time in office a flagrant disregard for the democracy and freedom this Republic holds as its ideals. He has worked to silence any opposition by whatever means necessary. I was wrongfully arrested and held against my will on unsubstantiated claims of treason.”

Riyo paused, getting the feel of the other senators listening. No shouts of protest yet, which was a good sign. “Any reasons for why I specifically was arrested are unimportant. What is important is that it could have been any senator here. I was accused of treason because I tried to use the systems of democracy the chancellor claims to love. And the same could happen to anyone here should they ever have an opinion that the chancellor personally deems ‘treasonous’.”

Her last sentence seemed to move across the senators in a wave. They all seemed to fidget, nervous at their potential futures that Riyo was predicting for them.  _ Time to bring it home. _

“We are all here because we love the planets we represent. We have their best interests at heart. And if your home’s interests don’t align with the chancellor? If we want to continue to live with the freedoms we enjoy, we have to all call for Chancellor Palpatine to step down.” Riyo stepped back from the microphone projecting her voice to the rotunda. She stood, body coiled tight waiting for a response.

The chorus of voices lulled for much longer than Riyo liked, and her anxiety flared up all over again. Then, voices started calling out. A few at first, but those voices were quickly joined by a surge of other senators.

“We’re with you, Senator Chuchi!”

“The chancellor needs to resign!”

“This will not be the death of democracy!”

Riyo nearly collapsed from the relief that flooded over her. She allowed herself a small smile in victory. She glanced behind her at Senators Ultan, Iffa, Yitha, and Ramna. All four of them were grinning at her, holding thumbs up in congratulations.

They had done it,  _ she  _ had done it.

\---

The Jedi Council had decided on a small group of jedi and clones to converge on the chancellor’s office. It had been a delicate balancing act between showing enough strength and not appearing like a forceful takeover. After much deliberation (as Jedi are want to do, Fox groaned internally), Masters Kit Fisto, Plo Koon, Mace Windu, and General Skywalker were chosen to directly confront Chancellor Palpatine. Master Windu had argued against Anakin coming with them, given his close relationship to the chancellor, but the General wasn’t having it. He needed to confirm these disturbing truths with his own eyes.

Fox also insisted on joining the group to confront the chancellor. There was no way he was letting his brothers go into a dangerous situation without him, his ordered execution be damned.

Fives and Wolffe stuck by their respective generals while Fox, Thire, Stone, and Thorn fell into formation and led the group through the winding halls of the senate. They took a convoluted path to the top of the dome specifically to avoid Coruscant Guard patrols. No need to bring any alarm to the guard with Fox’s presence and the large amounts of unannounced jedi. 

Despite most of the senators still being in the dome, the corridors closest to the chancellor’s sprawling rooms were quiet. They had yet to come across any of the Senate Guard Thorn had told him were supposed to be protecting Palpatine, and for once Fox thanked the universe for their incompetence.

They approached the door to the chancellor’s main office, which was bracketed by two Senate Guards. Fox and his brothers stepped to either side of the hallway to allow Master Windu to pass.

“We are here to see the Chancellor,” said Windu, his voice calm and stoic like always.

The guards looked between him and the rest of the assembled jedi and clones. “The chancellor is still under guard until we locate the traitor that attempted to assassinate him.” Fox did his best to not glance behind him at Fives, who was still in plain, unpainted armor.  _ If they think to ask us to take off our helmets, that damn “five” on his temple is going to give us away. _

Windu was unfazed. “That is what we are here to discuss with the chancellor.” Which technically wasn’t a lie.

“All the same, we’ve been instructed not to permit anyone entry.”

General Skywalker pushed to the front to stand beside Windu. “You will let us in,” he growled, his low voice cut with an unspoken threat. To his credit, the two guards did pull back slightly. Windu put a hand on Skywalker’s shoulder, a quiet signal to control himself. Reluctantly, Anakin stepped back, still glowering at the guards.

Mace Windu reached out, waving his hand in front of the guards. “The chancellor has requested our presence,” he said, his voice laced heavily with the force.

“The- the chancellor has requested your presence,” one guard echoed, a glazed look falling over him.

“You will let us pass,” Windu continued, concentrating.

“We will let you pass,” the other guard said, and pressed the panel behind him to open the doors.

The Jedi all strode directly to the center of the room, while the clones fanned out behind them. Their blasters were still holstered, but they were ready to act the moment the jedi signalled them.

Chancellor Palpatine was behind his desk, flanked by two pairs of Senate Guards. Four more Senate Guards were spread across the large office. A wave of nausea hit Fox like it always did when he was in the same room with the chancellor. Irritatingly, the chancellor looked up from the work on his desk, seemingly unsurprised by the group’s presence.

“Gentlemen,” Palpatine greeted in his usual oily voice. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He looked over each Jedi and clone individually, and Fox had to suppress a shudder when Palpatine made eye contact with him. Palpatine simply smirked at his presence, as if his failed extrajudicial execution was amusing to him.

“We have received disturbing news about you, Chancellor,” Windu said. “That you admitted to clone trooper Fives that you were aware of and in fact orchestrated the use of these control chips. What do you have to say to that?”

Palpatine leaned back in his chair, steepling his pale, knobbly fingers. He looked directly at Fives. “I see you were able to spread the word, despite my efforts. You’re smarter than you look.” Fives visibly tensed, clearly unnerved at being recognized despite his face being covered.

“You don’t deny it, then,” anger rose in Skywalker’s voice.

Palpatine rose from his chair and made his way slowly around his desk towards Skywalker. “Anakin, my boy. Everything I have done has been for the good of the Republic.”

“That is for the Senate to decide,” Windu remarked.

“I am the Senate,” Palpatine snarled. His entire presence shifted, any semblance of a benevolent ruler disguise leaving his body. He showed his true self: a manipulative dictator.

“Not for long. Chancellor Palpatine, stand down. We will not ask again.” Mace Windu rested his hand on his lightsaber clipped to the side of his belt. The Senate Guards all raised their blasters and aimed at the Jedi. The clones responded by unholstering their blasters and aiming back at them.

Palpatine’s eyes narrowed, calculating his next move. Whatever he ordered his guards to do, he was clearly outnumbered and outmatched in any scenario. Still, another sickening grinned curled across his face.

“Since you have figured me out, it seems only fair to demonstrate what those chips were meant for.” He looked past the four jedi to the clones.

“Execute Order 66.”

Another wave of nausea hit Fox, this time coupled with a splitting headache. Those words and their meaning came flooding up from his subconscious, nearly sending him careening to the floor. He saw his men beside him sway, clearly affected the same as him. But he shook it off. He wouldn’t be controlled by this man, and without the chip, he didn’t have to follow his or anyone’s orders. Fox readjusted his blaster to aim at Chancellor Palpatine. The chancellor’s eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment genuine fear flashed across his face.

“We won’t be controlled by you anymore, chancellor,” Fives gritted out between clenched teeth next to Fox. “We all removed our chips.”

Fox started at the clatter to his other side. He turned his head slightly to keep the chancellor in his sight. Wolffe had removed his helmet and dropped it to the floor, and was staggering back while clutching at his head. He was mumbling something.

“Good soldiers follow orders.”

Fox’s stomach dropped, horror freezing him in place as it dawned on him.

_ Wolffe never had his chip removed. _

It seems that Plo Koon realized the same thing Fox did, because he whirled around to face his commander. “Wolffe!” He called out, hand outstretched.

Wolffe fired off two shots at his general, catching his Jedi in the shoulder and the side before he could even think to deflect them.

Then everything descended into chaos.

The Senate Guard descended on the Jedi, firing off shots wildly. Fisto, Windu, and Skywalker all turned their backs to each other, expertly deflecting blaster bolts with their lightsabers. Plo Koon crouched down behind one of the couches, still deflecting shots but clutching at his side. Wolffe kept firing at his general, a hazy look of anger and determination over him.

The room filled with the loud impacts of blaster bolts and the constant hum of lightsabers. There was incoherent shouting, the Coruscant Guard coordinating their attacks. 

“Take out the Senate Guards!” Fox barked to his men. He leaped and tackled Wolffe to the ground, slamming into his middle.

“Wolffe, snap out if it!” Fox tried to wrestle the blaster away from his thrashing brother underneath him.

“Traitor!” Wolffe snapped back. The two Senate Guards who had been at the door rushed into the room, immediately firing on Fox and Wolffe. They missed, but just barely.

Fox was able to raise up his own blaster and fire two shots at his attackers before Wolffe punched him hard in the chest, getting out from being pinned by him. He scrambled up from the floor and started making a run for the closest jedi, his general. Fox grabbed at Wolffe’s kama, yanking hard to throw his blaster aim off. His shots went wide, scorching the ceiling. From the floor, Fox fired off three more shots at the Senate Guards, dropping them to the ground in a clatter of blue armor.

Wolffe spun around, snarling like a feral animal at Fox who was holding him back. He kicked Fox hard in the side where he was already heavily bruised, and he cried out in pain. But he still held onto his brother. Out of the corner of his vision, Fox saw Palpatine making his way to the exit.

“He’s trying to get away!” He called out to the Jedi, moving his head out of the way just in time to miss a shot from Wolffe. He hauled himself off the floor and managed to get behind his batchmate, wrapping an arm around his exposed neck and pulling tight.

General Skywalker broke off from the group, using the force to flip impossibly high through the air and landed in between the doorway and the chancellor.

“Sorry about this, Wolffe,” Fox said, and brought his armored fist down hard onto Wolffe’s right temple (attacking his weak side was playing dirty, but Fox would be happy to let his batchmate get even with him later).

The blow stunned Wolffe enough for Fox to wrestle his blaster away from him, and then he reeled back and punched Wolffe in the back of the head. He fell face first into the floor. Fox grimaced inside his helmet. He’d wake up with a nasty headache, but at least he’d still be alive. He assessed the rest of the room. His men and Fives had easily beat back the Senate Guards, keeping the Jedi safe like they had been born to do.

Satisfied his men were handling the situation, he hoisted Wolffe up from under the arms to drag him to safety. Looking back to confirm that the chancellor hadn’t escaped yet, his mouth fell open in shock.

General Skywalker was on the far side of the office, beating back Chancellor Palpatine. Who was wielding a glowing red lightsaber.

“Secure those side entrances,” Thorn said over their internal comm. “We don’t want any more guests joining us.” Thire and Stone nodded and ran to fulfill their orders.

The other Jedi moved in on Skywalker and the chancellor, their lightsabers raised. All the clones waited at the ready, waiting for an opportunity to fire (it would be impossible to shoot now without risking hitting one of the Jedi). Fox watched in morbid amazement as the General and the chancellor fought. Palpatine moved with greater strength and agility than he had ever seen from the old man.

Palpatine managed to get some distance between him and Skywalker. He stood, illuminated against the ceiling length window at the back of his office, and raised his bony hand to Anakin. Crackling lightning shot from his fingers as he laughed maniacally.

Skywalker caught the lightning bolts with his lightsaber, straining against the incredible energy coming from the chancellor. With a quick burst of movement, the general was able to knock away the lightning and crowd into Palpatine’s space. Another sharp sweep of his lightsaber disarms the chancellor of his own weapon, which Fisto called to him through the force for safekeeping.

Palpatine, weaponless and cornered, pressed up against the window with his hands raised in surrender. Anakin had his lightsaber a hair's breadth away from the chancellor’s neck. He was panting heavily from the fight, nostrils flaring as he struggled to maintain his rage.

“Anakin, my boy, you must listen to me-”

“You lied to me!” Anakin roared, rearing his lightsaber back to bring down on Palpatine. Windu caught Anakin’s wrist, keeping him from striking down the chancellor.

“Anakin, no! If we kill him, the Senate will never believe this was anything other than a power grab.”

Skywalker, not taking his stare off the chancellor, slowly lowered his lightsaber, still keeping it activated by his side. “I’m not letting him out of my sight.”

Windu addressed the assembled clones. “Get General Plo and his commander to the med bay. We’ll also need troopers up here to secure the chancellor for transport.”

“Yes sir!” Fox and his brothers said in unison, shifting into action. Thire helped Plo Koon to his feet, letting the general throw his good arm around his shoulders for support. Fox got on the comm, ordering as many men as were free up to the chancellor’s offices. He was met with a bunch of confused troopers asking about why he wasn’t in a cell.

“Ask questions later!” He barked into the comm. The doors to the office opened, putting everyone on edge. Fox relaxed slightly when he realized it was just another jedi, a woman he didn’t recognize. He did recognize what was in her hands: a force suppression collar. She approached the chancellor, who was still attempting to worm his way past General Skywalker with his typical smooth and slimy speech. Skywalker just spun his lightsaber dangerously close to Palpatine’s torso, effectively shutting him up.

Wolffe groaned on the floor, starting to come to.

“Shit. Thorn, give me your cuffs.” As soon as Wolffe was able to, he’d start fighting again.

Hands cuffed and disarmed, Fox threw his brother over his shoulder. It was an awkward hold, Wolffe was heavy. But they didn’t have time to wait for a gurney.

“Come on, move out!” And they started racing as fast as possible to medical.

\---

The unity among the senators was short lived, as someone had brought up the question of who would replace the chancellor. After all, they needed a leader during this war. Which prompted someone to bring up the fact that we shouldn’t even be in this war. And the shouting matches resumed. It was almost comforting to Riyo. She had just led the Republic to reject their ruler, and the galaxy hadn’t imploded around her.

“Senators,” a new voice called out. A Togrutan woman had stepped into one of the remaining pods and maneuvered to address the rotunda. “Please, I require your attention.”

Riyo had never met her before, but from her coloration and Jedi robes she could tell this was Shaak Ti. Fox had told Riyo about her from his time on Kamino.  _ What was she doing on Coruscant? _

“I come with distressing news. The Chancellor has been arrested by the Jedi for the good of the Republic.”

She explained everything, from the discovery of the inhibitor chips to the encounter in the chancellor’s office, to the stunned senators. To their credit, Riyo’s colleagues mostly kept quiet, only breaking out in shocked gasps and shouts when it was revealed that Palpatine was a Sith.

“I have proof,” Shaak Ti removed a sleek lightsaber from her robes. She ignited it, the red glow casting shadows across her face. “The chancellor attacked General Skywalker with this.” (at the mention of the general, Riyo made eye contact across the way at Padmé, who visibly paled, but kept her chin high).

“What’s more,” Shaak Ti continued. “We must accept the fact that the chancellor is responsible for the war. We have known for a long time that the Sith were our enemy, and it turns out, one of their numbers has been in our midst for some time.”

Senators started arguing amongst one another, accusations of conspiracy and subterfuge being tossed at political rivals. Tensions were impossibly high, the entirety of the Republic figuring out they had been duped for over a decade.

Senator Amidala, still shaken, worked with Senator Organa and Senator Chuchi to calm down the crowd.

“We cannot dwell on past mistakes. We owe it to our people to maintain the integrity of our Republic despite these revelations and right these wrongs as soon as possible.”

\---

Hundreds of senators poured out of the rotunda and into the large open foyer. Senator Amidala had called for a break in proceedings as they all tried to figure out the future of the Republic. However, the debates merely continued in a less formal fashion, senators splitting to speak to their factions. Senatorial aides were rushing between groups and back and forth from their senators’ offices.

Fox spread out the guard in pairs across the hall for security; scanning for threats both outside and in. Any number of criminal organizations could take advantage of the confusion and the uncertainty, and any number of the senators could lose their temper and turn the debates into schoolyard fisticuffs.

“We got eyes on the whole chamber?” He asked into his comm. He listened as each pair called off one by one. “Alright, try to keep the senators from splitting off, we don’t want to have to chase any of them down later.”

Fox felt Thire elbow him in the arm to grab his attention. “Fox, dead ahead.”

Fox searched for whatever Thire wanted to see. He was about to ask what the problem was before he froze. All the way on the other side of the hall, barely visible in the throng of senators, was Riyo. She was talking animatedly to Senator Amidala and Organa, gesturing passionately like she always did when she was excited.

Thire clapped Fox on the back, knocking him out of his trance. “Go, I’ve got this covered.”

Fox gave his brother a quick pat on his pauldron to show his appreciation and started pushing through the crowd to the other side of the hall. He was met with cries of protest from many of the senators, not used to being pushed aside, but he didn’t care. His heart was racing wildly. He had to get to her. She still hadn’t looked his way. He was getting frustrated, only halfway to her.

“Riyo!” He called out. She couldn’t hear him over the other voices echoing off the vaulted ceilings. He got incrementally closer. “Riyo!” He shouted as loud as he could.

Finally, she heard her name and turned to look. Even from this far away, Fox could see her breath catch in her throat. Senator Amidala gave her a gentle nudge to prompt her to start moving towards the commander. She called out to him. “Fox!”

The crowd was thinner on this side of the hall. Riyo practically ran towards him, weaving quickly between fellow senators (who looked at her with equal parts confusion and amusement). When they were almost to each other, Fox whipped off his helmet, and Riyo smiled even wider.

They practically crashed into each other. Fox dropped his helmet by his feet, something he would never, ever do, to wrap Riyo tightly in his arms. Riyo reciprocated, gripping at the back of his armor.

“Fox! You’re here! I thought the worst might had happened, but I couldn’t- I couldn’t bring myself to ask anyone if you were-”

He could hear her voice change as she started to cry. He shushed her, running a gloved hand over her hair. “It’s okay, I’m okay. I’m here.”

Riyo pressed her mouth to his ear so she could speak quietly. “But,  _ how _ are you here? You were in prison!”

“I could ask you the same thing. Weren’t you under house arrest?”

“I crawled through the air ducts.” Fox pulled back slightly to look at Riyo, amazement dawning his face. Riyo put a gentle hand to his cheek, which he leaned into. Riyo, remembering where they were, started to pull back from Fox, looking nervous. Fox held her tighter to him. He was not letting the two of them separated again.

“Fox, look where we are,” Riyo said gently, indicating with her head at the hall they were standing in. Fox looked out of the corner of his vision at multiple senators staring at them, gossiping behind raised hands. He couldn’t bring himself to be bothered by it.

“I don’t care where we are. Do you?” He searched Riyo’s eyes for an answer. If she truly wanted him to let go of her, he would. But he pleaded with whatever was out there, gods, the force, that she didn’t.

Riyo wiped at the tears that had fallen down her cheeks, shaking her head. “No. No I don’t care at all.”

Fox slid a hand to the back of her neck, his other arm still secure around her waist. He leaned in, drinking in the breathtaking sight of Riyo’s eyes fluttering closed. She surged up to meet him, both hands tracing against his jaw as they kissed.

All the emotions Fox had pushed down in the past days came rushing back up, nearly bringing him to his knees. The confusion from being accused of treason, the anger at Tarkin for exposing their relationship, the betrayal of discovering the chancellor’s true nature, the fear he was never going to see Riyo again. And all those nights he had spent with his heart aching, wanting nothing more than to do just this: be with his love.

All of it rushed back up and just as quickly melted away, leaving only a warmth growing in his chest. Tears of relief fell down his face.

Riyo lowered her head to catch her breath. They rested their foreheads together, wanting to keep as much contact as possible. Fox briefly glanced out of the corner of his eye at his surroundings. If people weren’t looking at them before, they were definitely looking now. People’s responses varied from joy and excitement to smugness and disgust. He was aware that they were a ridiculous sight. A senator kissing a clone in the middle of the Galactic Senate while the fate of the Republic hung in the balance? People were going to talk.

Well, might as well give them something to talk about.

“Riyo,” he held her by the shoulders, placing a small amount of distance between them. He ran his gloved hands gently around her arms until her hands were in his.

“Riyo,” his question stuck in the back of his throat. He so desperately wanted to ask her, he knew her answer already. So why couldn’t he just say it?

Riyo sensed his trepidation and squeezed his hands in comfort.

“Yes, Fox?” She asked sweetly.

Her encouragement was all he needed. He spoke clearly, not hiding from those around them. But this was just for Riyo, his Riyo.

“Riyo Chuchi, will you marry me?”

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh! We did it, y'all! And they did it, those crazy kids! I am beyond touched by all the kind words I have gotten about this fic, it has really meant a lot to me. This is by far the most work I've ever done on a personal project, and I couldn't have done it without all the support.  
> Any guesses as to what the epilogue is? (*wedding bells heard in the distance*)


	11. Peace Continued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue...  
> Riyo and Fox enter a new chapter of their lives together with their closest family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhhhh! It's finally here. Thanks for your patience in getting this last installment. Who knew writing wedding vows was so hard? Tear-inducing fluff ahead, be warned.  
> A million thanks to everyone who came on this journey with me, this is the most work I have ever done for a project and I couldn't have done it without all your kind words.  
> Special shout outs to:  
> @lilhawkeye3  
> @flybynite19  
> @part-timewizard  
> And every other fan of foxiyo.

"Five credits he sees Riyo and forgets his vows"

"I'll take that," Thorn shakes Stone's hand.

"Ten credits says he cries," Thire raises to the group.

"No bet," Thorn and Stone say simultaneously.

"You know, just because I'm getting married doesn't mean I won't assign you to extra PT," Fox says, still facing the mirror and readjusting his high collar for a fifth time.

"Five credits says the commander is full of shit," Thorn cracks, ignoring Fox's glare through the mirror. Both Thire and Stone shake on his bet, laughing at Thorn's joke.

"Giving these fools a salary was a mistake," Wolffe quips, arms crossed.

Fox turns to the group, hands smoothing down his already spotless navy blue jacket. "How do I look?"

"You look great, just like the last three times you asked," Wolffe replies. "Quit fussing," he reaches out and slaps Fox's hand away from adjusting his collar a sixth time.

"Looks like it's time to go," Thorn says as he peeks through the cracked-open door. "You ready?"

Fox took a deep breath, habitually tugging at the hem of his jacket. “Let’s go.”

Thire, Thorn, and Stone all filed out of the room to their seats. The ceremony was taking place on the rooftop of Riyo’s apartment building. Well,  _ their _ apartment building now. Fox moved in the week after the Chancellor was charged with high treason and the war with the Separatists was ended. Clones were technically still Kaminoan property at the time, but if anyone had any objections to Fox joining his life with Riyo, they kept it to themselves.

“Hey,” Wolffe held his hand out to keep Fox from exiting the room. It was just the two of them now. He held his little brother by the biceps, looking him up and down from an arm’s length away. His usual resting scowl faded to something softer, a rare sight even for Fox.

“You have the rings?”

Fox patted his breast pocket, feeling the two small circles through the fabric. “Got ‘em right here.”

Wolffe nodded approvingly,searching for something to say. Fox simply smiled. He and his brothers were rarely men of words, valuing action over everything. He pulled Wolffe into a tight hug. He wished his other batch mates could have been there, but they were all scattered fixing the galaxy they had been ordered to break. Luckily, if he had to pick one of his batch mates to be here with him today, it would be his oldest brother.

In the two months between asking Riyo to marry him and the date of the wedding, she had explained to Fox all the different Pantoran matrimony traditions. Given the haste of their planning, they elected to skip over a majority of them. However, when Riyo had told him about the role of Best Man, Fox immediately knew who to ask.

“You’re getting married.”

“I can’t believe it either.”

“I’m so proud of you, Fox’ika,” Wolffe whispered, voice raspy and clearly straining against getting choked up. The two brothers separated and walked out to the assembled crowd.

He and Riyo had elected to have a small ceremony. The rooftop accommodated the mismatched chairs that sat Fox’s commanders, Senators Organa and Mothma (Riyo’s only true friends within the Senate), and Riyo’s parents. Riyo’s mother Synne, a slight woman with matching semi-circle tattoos to her daughter, beamed brightly at Fox as he walked up.

_ Fox nearly threw up from nerves before meeting her parents. Synne had immediately hugged him upon her arrival to Coruscant, delighted to meet the man who’d brought her daughter so much joy.  _

_ “It is so lovely to finally meet my son-in-law.” _

_ He had nearly buckled from the relief that washed over him in that moment. _

Runa, Riyo’s younger sister, stood a ways off the altar (which was really just a single arch with blue fabric draped across it), chatting cheerfully with Senator Amidala. They had been ecstatic when Riyo had asked them to be the Maid of Honor and the officiate respectively.

_ “As Riyo’s only sister, it’s my responsibility to give you the talk.” Runa crossed her arms, schooling her face in a stern expression so unlike the cheery self Fox had first met. Despite being younger, she was a good four inches taller than Riyo and using every bit of that height to make her look more intimidating. _

_ “I don’t care if you’re a soldier capable of killing me in a hundred different ways. You hurt my sister, I have a blaster rifle and I know how to use it.” _

_ Fox wasn’t afraid to admit that the earnestness of this small blue woman terrified him. _

_ “I’d sooner die than cause Riyo even a second of unhappiness,” he promised. _

_ Runa nodded, unfolding her arms from across her chest. _

_ “Then I think we’ll get along just fine.” _

As Fox took his spot in front of Senator Amidala and Wolffe fell in behind him, Runa rushed off to where he knew Riyo would be waiting with her father in the access hallway. Fox half-listened to the bubbling conversations of the small party. The rest of his brain was reciting his vows.

A hush fell over the assembled crowd and Fox looked down across the rooftop. His heart tried to leap out of his chest when he saw the beauty that was Riyo. She had elected to wear a dress she already owned, a flowing gown of deep red fabric. Fox recognized it from the gala he had first realized he was in love with her.  _ Of course she would remember that, _ he thought absently. A navy blue sash that matched his jacket crossed her shoulder and trailed behind her, and the sun glinted off the charms of her gold headdress resting over her ears. Fox drank it all in, breath taken.

She walked up to the altar slowly, her arm interlinked with her father, Karel. When they reached the altar, the Pantoran man bent down and kissed his daughter on the temple, whispering something in their mother tongue that made Riyo smile wide. Karel went to take his seat beside Synne, and Riyo took her place to stand across from Fox. They joined hands in front of Padmé.

“Senator,” Fox greeted.

“Commander,” Riyo responded in typical fashion. They’d never get tired of that joke.

“Good afternoon everyone,” Padmé began. “We are gathered here today to witness a wonderful occasion in the lives of these two people: the bonding of Fox and Riyo together in marriage. As a new chapter of our galaxy unfolds before our eyes, so too does a new adventure begin for this couple. While we celebrate this next step in their relationship, we should also congratulate them on every previous trial, tribulation, and crossroads they faced as partners in secrecy. From this point on, they can be themselves for all to see, a truly precious gift.”

Padmé continued her speech, talking about the blessing of marriage and the wishes their friends and family have for their relationship. Fox did his best to listen, but he kept getting distracted by the feeling of Riyo’s soft hands in his and the subtle flowery perfume wafting off her skin.

“Now, the couple will exchange rings, a symbol of their bond, and exchange vows, their promises to keep to one another on this new journey.” Padmé held out her palm to Fox. “The rings?”

Fox fished out the two bands from his pocket and handed them off to the senator to hold.“Riyo, you may say your vows.”

“Fox,” Riyo squeezed his hands. “There are a million ways to say ‘I love you’, and through the span of our lifetimes I promise to show all of them to you. And every day I will show you that you are worthy of that love. Through our best and worst days, I will always be kind, patient, forgiving, and faithful. You have done nothing but support me since the day we met, and you were my first true friend here on this planet. You have always seen me for who I am, not what I could give you. I can never thank you enough for the happiness you have given me, but I will try.” She reached up to swipe away a tear from Fox’s cheek with the pad of her thumb. Cupping his jaw, she said “You, my Fox, are the light of my life.”

She removed her hand from his face to take one of the simple golden bands from Padmé’s hand. “And with this ring, I vow to you that I will always remind you of how much you mean to me.” She slipped the ring onto the fourth finger of his right hand, the metal sparkling against his weathered and calloused skin.

Padmé turned to Fox. “Fox, you may say your vows.”

He took a deep breath, still reeling from the beautiful words Riyo had just told him. Of course her vows had been perfect, she speaks for a living. Now it was his turn, and people were watching him confess his most personal and intimate feelings. Riyo, sensing his nervousness, rubbed her thumb across his knuckles to say  _ it’s just us here _ .

“Riyo,” he finally started. “I was never meant to have anything like this in my life. I was made to live a short and brutal existence and die for a government that didn’t even treat me like a human. And for the longest time, I was okay with that. It was all I had ever known. But then I met you. And all of a sudden, I wanted something for myself. I wanted to be with you. And against all odds, you wanted to be with me too, a man who could give you nothing. And against even greater odds, we’ve made it this far. So because of that I promise you that I will give you everything you could ever need or desire. My loyalty, my devotion, my heart… it’s all yours.”

He takes the second band and slides it onto Riyo’s finger. “And with this ring I promise that what is now mine to give I will always give to you.”

Padmé took a moment to compose herself, moved by the exchanged words. “Riyo Chuchi, do you take this man to be your wedded husband?”

She smiled widely, eyes crinkling in the corners. “I do.”

“And Fox, do you take this woman to be your wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Then by the power entrusted to me by the Galactic Republic, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may know kiss.”

They closed the small gap between each other, Fox pulling Riyo against him and wrapping his arms around her waist as she threw her arms around his neck. They kissed like they had done a thousand times before, and like the thousand times before warmth spread across Fox’s body, like he could feel the love Riyo had for him running through his veins. All the guests stood and erupted into applause and cheers. They broke their kiss and hugged each other tightly. Riyo was practically vibrating from the joy she was feeling.

“We did it,” she whispered into his ear.

“Yes, we did.” They parted from each other, still holding hands as they faced their family and friends.

Joined by the applause was incredibly loud sniffling. Fox glanced over to the sight of Stone and Thire chuckling and rubbing circles into Thorn’s back, who was desperately trying to hide the fact that he was bawling his eyes out from being overwhelmed with emotion. (In the midst of consoling their brother, Thire and Stone also passed off credits behind his back from another bet they had secretly made about their fellow commander).

Fox and Riyo walked through the small crowd of their friends and family, hand in hand. The group fell in behind them, all making the short stroll to the other side of the rooftop where one large table had been set for a home cooked dinner.

\---

“Thank you for coming, get home safe,” Riyo sent the last of their guests off with a hug. She turned to Fox, who was stacking the last of the plates from dinner for the service droid to take away. “That was perfect.”

“I agree, but let’s not do it again,” Fox fell back into a chair and undid the top clasps of his jacket. Riyo laughed, the sound ringing out across the rooftop like twinkling charms of her headdress. Fox got to hear that sound for the rest of his life. How lucky was he?

He motioned for her to join him. She settled across his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Night had fallen on Coruscant hours ago, and the colored lights of the buildings around them played across the gold of her eyes and her tattoos.

“Well, we’ll just have to make this one count, Mr. Chuchi.”

Fox couldn’t help the smile that grew at being called that. He drank in the sight of his wife, settled against his chest completely relaxed, all decorum and status stripped away. A luxury few clones could claim.

A dream he got to wake up to everyday, till death do them part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the force be with you!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! More to come soon as I polish up the next chapter, and actually figure out what happens next.


End file.
